Appeals · Annapolis
Honora Tolliver writes and argues civil and criminal appeals, and works beside trial lawyers who want the record right before a verdict. The time to file an appeal is short, so the first call should come soon after the judgment.
Sample matters
An appeal is won on the record and the law, not on adjectives. These are the lines this office works by, each set beside a matter that bears it out.
Reversed
Contract dispute between a boatyard and a yacht owner. The trial court let in an expert it should have kept out; the objection at trial preserved the point, and the appellate court ordered a new trial.
Remanded
Criminal appeal after a jury trial. The sentence counted a prior conviction that didn’t qualify, and the case went back to the trial court for resentencing.
Affirmed
A homeowner won a judgment against a contractor, and the contractor appealed. We wrote the appellee’s brief, and the judgment stood.
Hearing ordered
Post-conviction petition. A witness recanted under oath years after the trial; the denial of the petition was vacated and the court ordered an evidentiary hearing.
Sample matters, described for illustration. Every appeal turns on its own record, and past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
The lawyer
Appellate lawyer
Honora began as a law clerk at an appellate court, reading briefs for a judge, and learned there what makes a panel turn the page. She reads every transcript herself, writes every brief herself and stands up at every argument. You get her direct line, not a team.
Deadlines
The time to file a notice of appeal is measured in weeks, and it depends on the court and the kind of case. Send the date of the judgment and the case number. Honora will tell you whether there’s an appeal worth taking, and what it would cost, before you sign anything.
