Texas Federal Appeals Attorney

Texas meeting location – by appointment only: We do NOT accept mail or service at this location.
440 Louisiana St #200
Houston, TX 77002
713-597-3388

**Attorney Linda Julin McNamara**
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Former Deputy Chief, Appellate Division

Elizabeth Stepp — **Attorney Elizabeth K. Stepp**
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Partner & Yale Graduate

**Attorney Nick Oberheiden**
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Contact Nick

envelope icon — **Attorney Nick Oberheiden**
Federal Appeals Team Lead
Contact Nick

Why consider a Texas federal appeals attorney for your federal appeal?

Our team has been involved in over 500 federal appeals cases.
Over 50 years of combined frontline experience.
You will work directly with your senior attorney from day one — no junior attorneys or assistants.

A criminal conviction for a federal offense is extremely costly. If you leave the conviction unchallenged, you will face significant amounts of jail time, costly fines, and other life changing repercussions.

In Texas, you have the right to appeal your conviction or your sentence.

Having an experienced Texas federal appeals attorney, like those at the national law firm Oberheiden P.C., is absolutely essential if you want to maximize your odds of success on appeal.

The Costs of Leaving a Conviction Unchallenged

The penalties of a criminal conviction will depend largely on the offense that has been charged and your criminal background. If you are prosecuted in federal court in Texas, odds are that it is a felony offense. These carry at least a year in federal prison. In many cases, they carry far more prison time, and it is not uncommon for a defendant to face multiple criminal counts in a single case.

In addition to prison time, you will also face monetary sanctions, including:

Paying criminal fines
Making restitution payments to victims
Forfeiting the profits of the crime
Court costs

These can easily surpass hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Even after all of the fines have been paid and your prison sentence has been completed, you will still face a period of strict probation. This can entail:

Regular meetings with a probation officer
Consent to random searches
Loss of rights to bear arms
Employment requirements
A curfew
A prohibition against committing another criminal offense

Violating your terms of probation can lead to even more legal jeopardy.

Finally, you will also face the collateral consequences that come with having a criminal background. Private parties, like landlords or employers, may refuse to give you the opportunities that they give to others who do not have a criminal history.

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

The Criminal Justice System Up to Your Trial

These penalties come at the end of the criminal justice system, after your trial.

The system begins when law enforcement learns of a potential federal offense. If investigations uncover more incriminating evidence, prosecutors will generally present their case to a Texas grand jury. If the grand jury finds probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, you will be indicted, arrested, and arraigned. A date will be set for your trial.

Most criminal cases are resolved before trial in a plea deal. These cases generally require you to waive your rights to appeal your conviction.

If you do not take a plea deal, your case will go to trial. If the jury returns a guilty verdict, the judge will schedule a sentencing hearing. At this hearing, the judge will impose the sentence.

At this point, you have the right to appeal the outcome of your case.

What to Expect During Your Appeal in Texas

In Texas, you have to file a Notice of Appeal within 14 days. You have to file it with the court that held your trial. This Notice of Appeal is a simple piece of paperwork that:

Notifies the prosecutor of your intent to appeal
Tells the trial court to forward the record of your trial to the appellate court

Importantly, an appeal does not mean that you will get a new trial. Instead, you have to isolate a mistake or an abuse of discretion that the court made during your trial. This can be:

A misapplication of the law
The judge did something that he or she did not have the power to do
There was jury misconduct
The law is ambiguous or unsettled

Your entire appeal consists of convincing the appeals court judges that this issue caused you to be wrongfully convicted. It is up to you and your Texas federal appeals lawyer to point to a particular mistake or error that was made by the district court that led to your conviction.

Your Texas federal appeals attorneys do this through a legal brief. This document, which is often several dozens of pages long, is extensively and exhaustively researched. It details what happened in the trial court and lays out why it was wrong. It also explains how the problem led to your conviction and urges the appeals court to intervene.

The prosecutors in your case will also be researching and writing their own legal brief. Theirs will urge the appeals court judges to affirm your conviction and sentence.

In some cases, the appeals judges schedule an oral argument during which they will ask very pointed questions to the lawyers about their arguments.

After considering trial records, legal briefs, and oral arguments, the appellate judges will issue their decision. If they side with the prosecutor’s case, your conviction will be affirmed. You can request a rehearing with a larger panel of judges, or can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the judges side with you on the appeal, they will remand the case back to the district court with instructions on how to proceed. This may lead to a retrial.

The Federal District Courts in Texas

From your arraignment through your sentencing hearing, your case will be handled by one of the four federal district courts in Texas. These four are the U.S. District Court for the:

The Northern District

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas covers 100 of Texas’ counties. It has seven divisions, based on the location of the courthouse:

Abilene Division (341 Pine Street, Abilene, TX 79601)
Amarillo Division (205 SE 5th Avenue, Amarillo, TX 79101)
Dallas Division (1100 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75242)
Ft. Worth Division (501 W 10th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102)
Lubbock Division (1205 Texas Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79401)
San Angelo Division (33 E Twohig Avenue, San Angelo, TX 76903)
Wichita Falls Division (1000 Lamar Street, Wichita Falls, TX 76301)

The Southern District

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas covers most of the counties that run along the state’s shoreline. It also has seven divisions that are named after the location of the courthouse:

Brownsville Division (600 E. Harrison Street, Brownsville, TX 78520)
Corpus Christi Division (1133 N. Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401)
Galveston Division (601 Rosenberg Street, Galveston, TX 77550)
Houston Division (515 Rusk Avenue, Houston, TX 77002)
Laredo Division (1300 Victoria Street, Laredo, TX 78040)
McAllen Division (1701 W. Business Highway 83, McAllen, TX 78501)
Victoria Division (312 S. Main Street, Victoria, TX 77901)

The Western District

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 Texas counties, stretching from the western tip to Waco. It has nine courthouses:

Alpine (2450 State Highway 118, Alpine, TX 79830)
Austin (501 West Fifth Street, Austin, TX 78701)
Del Rio (111 East Broadway, Del Rio, TX 78840)
El Paso (525 Magoffin Avenue, El Paso, TX 79901)
Fort Hood (Building 5794, Tank Destroyer Boulevard, Fort Hood, TX 76544)
Midland-Odessa (200 East Wall, Midland, TX 79701)
Pecos (410 South Cedar, Pecos, TX 79772)
San Antonio (262 West Nueva Street, San Antonio, TX 78207)
Waco (800 Franklin Avenue, Waco, TX 76701)

The Eastern District

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ jurisdiction reaches from the shoreline to the northern border. It has six divisions:

Beaumont Division (300 Willow Street, Beaumont, TX 77701)
Lufkin Division (104 N Third Street, Lufkin, TX 75901)
Marshall Division (100 E Houston Street, Marshall, TX 75670)
Sherman Division (101 E Pecan Street, Sherman, TX 75090, though there are other branch offices)
Texarkana Division (500 N State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501)
Tyler Division (211 W Ferguson Street, Tyler, TX 75702)

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals from any of these district courts, as well as those from district courts in Louisiana and Mississippi, are heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This federal appellate court is based in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 600 Camp Street. This is where your Texas federal appeals lawyer will file the legal briefs and present oral arguments, if necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oberheiden P.C.

What Sets Oberheiden P.C. Apart from Other Appeals Firms in Texas?

First, our firm focuses its criminal defense practice on federal offenses, rather than state ones. This is the opposite of how most law firms work. The difference is not small, as attorneys who are used to practicing in state court are often completely overwhelmed when they find themselves facing the full resources of a federal law enforcement agency like the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Second, all of our attorneys are experienced in federal criminal defense, with some of them only coming to Oberheiden P.C. after working within the same law enforcement agencies pursuing your case. That insider’s knowledge gives us an advantage in your defense.

Why Don’t You Call Yourselves the Best Appeals Firm in Texas?

Because we would rather let our prior clients’ testimonials say those sorts of things for us.

The Texas Federal Appeal Lawyers at Oberheiden P.C.

A Texas federal appeals lawyer at Oberheiden P.C. has helped defendants in Texas appeal rulings for numerous offenses, including for:

Call our Texas law offices at (888) 680-1745 or contact us online to get help immediately.