Most criminal appeals take roughly 8 to 18 months from the notice of appeal to a written decision, and complex cases can stretch well past two years. Federal criminal appeals have historically reached a median resolution time of about 11 months. State timelines vary widely with court backlogs and local rules. How long your criminal appeal takes depends on which stage you’re in, how many issues you’re raising, and how loaded the court’s docket is.
The Stages and What Each One Adds
Filing the Notice of Appeal
Everything starts with a short document filed in the trial court. In federal cases, a defendant has 14 days after the judgment or order to file the notice; the government has 30 days if it appeals.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal in a Criminal Case State deadlines are commonly 30 or 42 days, but they vary enough that you need to check your own state’s rule.
These deadlines are jurisdictional. A late notice generally cannot be fixed, and missing it can end the appeal before it starts. This is the single most time-sensitive step in the process.
Building the Record
Once the notice is filed, the appellant must order the trial transcript. Federal rules require the order within 14 days of the notice.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 10 – The Record on Appeal If only certain issues are on appeal, a partial transcript is allowed, and the opposing side then has 14 days to designate any additional portions it wants included.
The court reporter is usually the first real bottleneck. A multi-week trial can produce thousands of pages, and reporters juggle work across many cases. There is no hard federal deadline for finishing, so delays of several weeks to several months are common after long or complex trials. This stage is largely outside the parties’ control and is one of the least predictable parts of the timeline.
The Briefing Stage
After the record reaches the appellate court, the briefing clock starts. Under the federal rules, the appellant gets 40 days for the opening brief, the government gets 30 days to respond, and the appellant can file an optional reply within 21 days, but no later than 7 days before any scheduled oral argument.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 31 – Serving and Filing Briefs
Briefing rarely tracks the defaults. Extensions are routinely requested and granted, especially in cases with multiple issues or voluminous records. Each extension adds weeks. State courts set their own schedules, some shorter and some longer than the federal defaults.
Oral Argument
Not every appeal gets oral argument. The court reviews the briefs and decides whether hearing from the attorneys would help. Many straightforward appeals are decided on the papers alone. When oral argument is scheduled, it typically happens several months after the final brief is filed, and each side usually gets 15 to 30 minutes.
Waiting for the Decision
After argument or final briefing, the panel deliberates and drafts a written opinion. This is the least predictable stage. Some panels issue decisions within a few weeks. Others take six months or more, especially when the case involves novel legal questions, disagreement among the judges, or a dissent in progress. There is no formal deadline for the ruling.
What Stretches an Appeal
Case complexity is the biggest variable. An appeal challenging one sentencing issue moves far faster than one contesting evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and prosecutorial conduct across a six-week trial. More issues mean longer briefs, longer deliberation, and more time at every stage.
Court backlogs matter almost as much. Some federal circuits and many state appellate courts carry heavy caseloads that stretch wait times for argument scheduling and opinion drafting. The gap between a lightly loaded court and an overwhelmed one can easily be several months.
Transcript preparation, attorney extensions, and procedural motions compound the delays. A motion to supplement the record, a dispute over what the transcript should include, or a request for additional briefing each adds its own increment. Individually small, they collectively push a straightforward appeal past the one-year mark.
If you cannot afford a lawyer and counsel is appointed for your first appeal of right, plan on additional time up front: a new attorney has to be assigned and then read the entire trial record before identifying issues. When appointed counsel concludes there are no non-frivolous arguments, they can file an Anders brief and the defendant gets a chance to respond before the court rules, typically adding at least a couple of months.
Do You Stay in Prison While the Appeal Runs
For most federal defendants sentenced to imprisonment, the answer is yes. Federal law presumes detention pending appeal, and the burden is on the defendant to overcome it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3143 – Release or Detention of a Defendant Pending Sentence or Appeal
To win release, a defendant must show by clear and convincing evidence that they are not a flight risk and pose no danger, and that the appeal is not filed for delay and raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial, or a meaningfully reduced sentence.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3143 – Release or Detention of a Defendant Pending Sentence or Appeal The substantial-question requirement is where most requests fail. For certain serious offenses, including crimes of violence and drug offenses carrying a maximum sentence of ten years or more, federal law requires detention regardless of the appeal’s strength. State rules on release pending appeal vary considerably.
What Happens After the Panel Rules
Rehearing and En Banc Review
If you lose, the first option is asking the same court to reconsider. A petition for panel rehearing or for rehearing en banc must be filed within 14 days after the judgment.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 40 – Panel Rehearing and En Banc Determination En banc rehearing is granted only in exceptional circumstances, typically when the panel’s decision conflicts with existing circuit precedent or raises a question of exceptional importance. Most petitions are denied. A successful one resets the clock for another round of briefing and argument before the full court.
Petitioning the Supreme Court
The losing party can petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari within 90 days after the appellate court enters its judgment.6Legal Information Institute. Supreme Court Rule 13 – Review on Certiorari: Time for Petitioning Certiorari is discretionary. The Court accepts roughly 100 to 150 cases out of more than 7,000 petitions each year, and generally takes only cases raising significant constitutional questions or resolving disagreements among the circuits.7United States Courts. Supreme Court Procedures For most criminal defendants, the circuit court’s decision is the final word.
Post-Conviction Relief
When direct appeals are exhausted, federal prisoners have one more avenue: a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, which allows a challenge based on constitutional violations, jurisdictional defects, or errors so fundamental that they amount to a miscarriage of justice. This is not a second appeal. It is a separate proceeding with its own rules and a much higher bar.
The critical deadline is a one-year statute of limitations, generally running from the date the conviction becomes final, meaning after the time for seeking certiorari expires or, if certiorari was sought, after the Supreme Court denies it.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 2255 – Federal Custody; Remedies on Motion Attacking Sentence The clock can also start from other events, such as the discovery of new evidence or a new constitutional right recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactive. Second or successive motions face steeper barriers and require pre-approval from the circuit court.
State prisoners challenging state convictions in federal court use a related but distinct process under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which carries its own one-year deadline and requires exhausting all state court remedies first. Between the direct appeal, any rehearing or certiorari petition, state post-conviction proceedings, and federal habeas review, a criminal case can move through the courts for a decade or more before every avenue is closed.