Appeals

The attorneys at The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo are polished appellate advocates with strong backgrounds in the practice area. In fact, Matthew Galluzzo began his professional career as appellate lawyer in the Appeals Bureau of the New York County District Attorney’s Office. In that role, he spent years researching complex questions of criminal law, responding to appellate motions, writing and editing appellate response briefs in state and federal courts, and orally arguing dozens of appeals before panels of appellate judges. Unlike many appellate lawyers, however, they also have extensive experience as trial lawyers. Indeed, that experience – gleaned from having dozens of jury trials to verdict – makes them particularly effective at spotting and understanding appealable issues that may have arisen during a trial. Furthermore, their experience is not limited solely to criminal issues as they have both worked as civil litigators at two of Manhattan’s top litigation firms. Most importantly though, they have experience winning complex cases in New York’s highest appellate courts.

Thus, if you or a family member have been convicted of a crime in New York state or federal court, you should consider hiring The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo to examine the complete record of what happened and give you an objective opinion of the strength of a potential appeal. In addition, we can help you appeal or defend a civil judgment in state or federal court. You may have been perfectly satisfied with the representation of the prior attorney that worked on the case at the trial level, but there are significant advantages to having a meticulous appellate practitioner evaluate the case with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Moreover, we are prepared to assist trial attorneys that may not have the expertise or the time to thoroughly delve into the appellate issues and prepare the necessary written briefs.

We are capable at handling post-judgment motions (such as motions to withdraw pleas or motions under CPL Section 440.10), writs, writs of habeas corpus, writs of coram nobus, requests for sentencing reduction, direct appeals, appellant and respondent briefs, substantive summary judgment motions, appellate oral arguments, and stays of execution or enforcement pending appeals.

To learn more about the basics of pursuing an appeal of a state court criminal conviction, click here.

Recent representative appellate cases include:

• A victory in a landmark Court of Appeals case involving the definition of an “enterprise” under the Enterprise Corruption statute. The Enterprise Corruption charges against our client were dismissed in their entirety by New York’s highest appellate court. More on this interesting case here.
• Reversal of a rape conviction on appeal. The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo argued that his trial attorney had a conflict of interest in that his attorney’s firm represented a co-defendant and primary witness against him. The text of the decision is available here. Notably, Matthew Galluzzo then represented the young man on his subsequent trial and earned a full acquittal on all charges. The newspaper article about that trial is available here.
• Motions to vacate convictions on Padilla grounds, meaning that the defendants had not been made aware of the negative immigration consequences of their pleas.