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Handling criminal appeals and providing appellate law solutions to other lawyers and residents of San Francisco, California, Contra Costa County and throughout California in the following areas:

• State Criminal Appeals and Writs
• Federal Criminal Appeals and Writs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why - Appellate Lawyer - Julie Schumer?

California Appellate lawyer Julie Schumer earned her law degree from Loyola-Marymount Law School in Los Angeles in 1978 and a B.A. in English at UCLA where she graduated magna cum laude in 1975. Appellate lawyer Julie Schumer worked for a small firm in Los Angeles for several years before relocating to the Bay area in 1982. In 1996 she was among the first group of lawyers to become a certified specialist inappellate law.

For the last 30 years, Julie has handled retained and court appointed indigent criminal appeals and post-conviction motions and writs exclusively, earning a statewide reputation as an intelligent, professional, detail-oriented appellate lawyer who has the ability to achieve outstanding results. Julie has excellent research and writing skills as well as the ability to carefully select and frame the issues on appeal that are most powerful and convincing. Over the years she has handled hundreds of appeals. Ten of the cases in which she filed an appeal have resulted in published opinions. These appeals include:

People v. Johnson (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1409
People v. Tucker (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1
People v. King (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 328 (review granted on pretext search doctrine)
People v Araujo (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 700
People v. Runge (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 436 (reversal, depublished)
People v. Spears (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 1
People v. Seibel (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1279 (reversal)
People v. Coston (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 89
People v. Brown (1988) 201 Cal.App.1296
People v. Jarrell (1987) 196 Cal.App.3d 604
People v Sammy Daniels (2009) 176 Cal.App.4th 304

Julie’s greatest victory occurred in the Santa Clara County case of Mr. A. Y. Mr. Y. was falsely accused of the molestation and murder of his four month old infant daughter. Through post-conviction writ proceedings, Mr. Y. won a new trial on the murder charge based on the ineffective assistance of his trial counsel and, while ultimately pleading guilty to a lesser charge to avoid retrial, was released. In large part because of the work of lawyer Julie Schumer, Mr. Y. is a free man today, enjoying his new wife and job.

In addition to aggressively pursuing appeals, lawyer Julie Schumer is active in the legal community. She served for two years as co-chair of the Appellate Law Advisory Commission, which assists the Board of Legal Specialization in administering the certified specialist's program in appellate law. She is a past co-chair of the Prisons/Post-Conviction Law Committee of CACJ (California Attorneys for Criminal Justice). She has been a speaker on appellate procedure for various groups over the years and has co-authored several articles on the subject for the Contra Costa Lawyer, the monthly magazine for the Contra Costa Bar Association. She is the founder and former President of the Appellate Section of the Contra Costa Bar Association. She was voted a Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

RATES/FEES AND OTHER APPELLATE PRACTICE INFORMATION

What are your fees?

I offer a free 30 minute telephone consultation. After that and until I have been retained, I can conduct a preliminary review of the case for a flat fee determined by the nature and complexity of the case. This is payable in advance by cashier's check, or money order or Pay Pal. I do not accept credit cards. The review includes extended discussion with the client or his or her designated representative, consultation with trial counsel, review of key documents and legal research if necessary. The review allows me to advise a client as to whether or not pursing an appeal or writ will be worthwhile and what his or her chances of success may be. A preliminary review of a possible habeas action is generally more complicated than an appeal and may require initial investigation by a private investigator as well at an additional cost.

Payment of fees and likely expenses is required in advance. The fee is deposited in my trust account and withdrawn only when services are performed. Unused expense amounts are returned at the conclusion of the case.

Before I start any work on an appeal, clients are required to sign a fee agreement setting forth all of the terms of my engagement. This agreement, and not the general information in this website, governs the attorney-client relationship.

Who will do the work?

I personally research and write every brief in every appeal I handle as well as conduct oral argument when necessary.

How can you handle appeals statewide?

An appellate practice is almost entirely office-based work. The heart of the appeal is the written briefs. Generally only one court appearance is required. In some appeals, there is no oral argument, so no appearances are required. Thus, picking the right lawyer for your case is more important than picking your lawyer based upon location.

If you or someone you know in San Francisco, California, Contra Costa County or anywhere in California needs the assistance of an experienced appellate lawyer then contact the Law Offices of Julie Schumer to schedule a consultation with a certified legal specialist in appellate law. She can be reached at 866-295-4366 or via her contact form on the contact page.