What to Expect: Your Case, Step by Step

Hiring an appellate or post-conviction lawyer means trusting an unfamiliar process. Whether you're challenging a conviction on direct appeal, filing a post-conviction petition, or pursuing federal habeas relief, the process at Lewarchik Law follows the same six steps, from your first call to the final decision.

Step 1: The Initial Consultation

Every case starts with a conversation. During your initial consultation, we discuss what happened in the trial court, where the case stands procedurally, and what you hope to achieve.

Come prepared to tell us:

What court entered the judgment and when.

Whether a direct appeal was filed, and if so, what happened to it.

What deadlines may be approaching: even if you're not sure, tell us the key dates you know.

What you believe went wrong: a ruling, an attorney's failure, new evidence, anything.

You don't need to have the legal theory figured out. That's our job. What we need from you are the facts and the dates. Appellate and post-conviction deadlines are strict: in Illinois, a notice of appeal is generally due within 30 days of the final judgment, and post-conviction petitions carry their own filing limits under 725 ILCS 5/122-1(c). If a deadline is close, we address it first.

The consultation is confidential whether or not you retain the firm. If a family member is calling on behalf of someone in custody, we regularly coordinate through CorrLinks, JPay, legal mail, and facility visits.

Step 2: The Case Evaluation

Appeals and post-conviction petitions are won on the record and the law, not on promises. Before we recommend a course of action, we evaluate the case the same way a reviewing court will.

That evaluation typically includes:

Obtaining and reviewing the record: transcripts, common law record, exhibits, and prior appellate filings.

Identifying preserved and unpreserved issues, and assessing which claims fit which vehicle: direct appeal, a post-conviction petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, a 2-1401 petition, or a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. Section 2254.

Researching the controlling law, including recent decisions that may have changed the landscape since trial.

Assessing the realistic strength of each claim: including claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, which require showing both deficient performance and prejudice.

At the end of the evaluation, you get a candid, written assessment: which issues are worth raising, which are not, and why. If the case doesn't support relief, we tell you directly rather than let you spend two years chasing false hope.

Step 3: Strategy and Filing

Once you decide to move forward, we build the case.

We choose the strongest issues, not the most issues. Reviewing courts respect focused briefs. Three well-developed arguments beat ten scattered ones.

We draft with care. Every brief and petition goes through multiple rounds of revision before it's filed. The writing is plain, precise, and grounded in the record: every factual assertion cited, every legal claim supported.

We gather the supporting evidence. Post-conviction petitions must be supported by affidavits, records, or other evidence. Where the case calls for it, we coordinate with forensic experts, psychologists, and investigators to build that support.

We file on time, in the right court, in the right format: Illinois Appellate Court, Illinois Supreme Court, federal district court, or the Seventh Circuit, through Odyssey, PACER, or the applicable e-filing system.

You review and approve the strategy before anything is filed. Nothing goes out the door without your understanding of what we're arguing and why.

Step 4: The Timeline

Appellate and post-conviction cases move slowly, and we say so up front.

Direct appeals in the Illinois Appellate Court typically take 12 to 24 months from the notice of appeal to a decision, depending on the district, the length of the record, and whether the court holds oral argument.

Post-conviction petitions proceed in stages. The circuit court has 90 days to conduct its first-stage review; if the petition advances, second-stage proceedings and any third-stage evidentiary hearing can take a year or more. For a full breakdown, see our article: How Long Does a Post-Conviction Case Take in Illinois?

Federal habeas petitions commonly take one to two years or more in the district court.

We can't control the court's calendar. No lawyer can. What we control is our part: filings prepared early, extensions kept to a minimum, and no deadline ever missed.

Step 5: Communication While Your Case Is Pending

Long timelines make communication essential. Here is our commitment:

You are notified of every filing, ours and the State's, with a copy and a plain-English explanation of what it means.

You are told about every court date and every ruling promptly, along with what it means for the next step.

Status updates come at regular intervals, even when the honest update is "we are waiting on the court." Silence from the court is normal; silence from your lawyer is not.

Your calls and messages get answered. For clients in custody, we maintain contact through CorrLinks, JPay, legal mail, and visits.

Step 6: The Decision and What Comes Next

Every case ends with a ruling, and every ruling comes with options. When the decision arrives, we review it with you in plain language and map the path forward:

If we win, that may mean a reversal, a new trial, a new sentencing hearing, or an evidentiary hearing, and we prepare you for what that next proceeding involves.

If we lose, we evaluate the next step: a petition for rehearing, a petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, a successive post-conviction petition where the law allows it, or federal habeas review.

Post-conviction litigation is rarely a single filing. It is often a sequence of proceedings, each building on the last. We think about the next stage from day one: preserving issues, building the record, and keeping every future avenue open.

Ready to Start?

If you or a loved one is considering an appeal or post-conviction petition in Illinois or Michigan, the first step is a consultation. Contact Lewarchik Law to schedule a time to talk, and bring your dates and your documents. We'll map out the path from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a post-conviction case take in Illinois?

Plan for one to three years in the circuit court, and three to five years or more if the petition is dismissed and appealed. The Post-Conviction Hearing Act moves in three stages: a 90-day first-stage review, a second stage with counsel and briefing, and a third-stage evidentiary hearing. Only the first stage has a firm statutory clock.

What's the difference between a direct appeal and a post-conviction petition?

A direct appeal challenges errors that appear in the trial record: rulings, instructions, sufficiency of the evidence. A post-conviction petition raises constitutional violations that usually depend on facts outside the record, like ineffective assistance of counsel or newly discovered evidence. They are different vehicles with different deadlines, and many cases need both.

How long do I have to file a criminal appeal in Illinois?

Generally 30 days from the final judgment to file the notice of appeal. Miss it and the appellate court ordinarily loses jurisdiction, though Supreme Court Rule 606(c) allows a motion for leave to file a late notice of appeal within a limited window. Treat 30 days as the deadline.

What is ineffective assistance of counsel?

It's a claim that your trial or appellate lawyer's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that the deficient performance prejudiced the outcome: the two-part test from Strickland v. Washington. It is not enough that your lawyer lost; you must show specific failures that changed the result.

Can new evidence be used after a conviction?

Yes. Newly discovered evidence, including recanted testimony, new witnesses, or new forensic results, can support a post-conviction petition, and claims of actual innocence are exempt from the Act's usual filing deadlines. The evidence must be supported by affidavits, records, or other documentation.

What happens if my post-conviction petition is dismissed?

A dismissal at any stage can be appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court within 30 days. If the appellate court reverses, the case returns to the circuit court and picks up where it left off. Beyond that, options may include a petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, a successive petition where the law allows, or federal habeas review under 28 U.S.C. Section 2254.

Do I need a lawyer to file a post-conviction petition?

You can file pro se, and many petitioners do, but a large share of pro se petitions are summarily dismissed at the first stage. A petition drafted by counsel from the outset is built to survive that 90-day review and to win at the later stages, with the supporting affidavits and records the Act requires already attached.

Is it too late to challenge my conviction?

Maybe not. The deadlines under 725 ILCS 5/122-1(c) are strict, but there are exceptions: actual innocence claims, delays not due to culpable negligence, and other vehicles like 2-1401 petitions and federal habeas. The only way to know is to have the dates reviewed.