The Candid Review: A Blog About Appeals

Is it ever too late to appeal a criminal case? Thanks to a truly bizarre mishap with legal paperwork in Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals and criminal appeals attorneys will tackle that question and its various implications.

Convicted Felon 

When Cornealious Mike Anderson was 22, he robbed a Burger King with a friend, threatening the nighttime manager with a gun. Anderson did not harm the manager during the 1999 robbery. Even so, a court sentenced Anderson to 13 years. Anderson served 10 months in prison, before he temporarily got out on bail. During that time Anderson worked closely with appellate attorneys and criminal appeals lawyers, but to no avail. The legal system upheld the Anderson’s original sentence of 13 years in jail — only they didn’t.

Courts may have stated that Anderson must serve 13 years, but they didn’t enforce it. No one came to Anderson’s home. Police did not speak to Anderson or his family. In fact, Anderson didn’t hear another word about it until just recently, nearly 15 years later.

Should Criminals Pay For Crimes Decades Later?

Today, Anderson is a married man with four young children between the ages of three and 12. Since the robbery, Anderson also took up carpentry and started his own business. He coached a children’s football team. “He completely turned his life around,” according to his wife, LaQonna. But that’s not enough for the legal system, who finally enforced Anderon’s sentence after 15 years.

What did Anderson’s lawyer have to say about it? “Even the victim himself went on record and said, I dont think this guy should be in jail.'” Like anyone else convicted of a crime, Anderson does have the right to continue to appeal his sentence. The first appeal is generally due 90 days after courts officially convict someone.

The U.S. Court of Appeals will receive 10,000 appeals every single term, and — if Anderson’s criminal appeals attorney has his way — courts will be hearing about the unique and bizarre court case.