POST-CONVICTION REPRESENTATION

We are post-conviction lawyers, regularly investigating and filing post-conviction motions in New York state courts under CPL § 440 and federal courts under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254 (state prisoners) and 2255 (federal prisoners).

With a combined experience of more than 75 years representing clients in post-conviction litigation, our attorneys have obtained numerous post-conviction victories in state and federal courts. Levitt & Kaizer partner Richard Levitt is the author of the 1800-page Second Circuit Criminal Law Sourcebook, which includes sections on all areas of post-conviction relief. Richard, along with Levitt & Kaizer partner Zach Segal authored the chapter on Post-Conviction Representation in the recently-published Mental Disabilities, A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers (Second Edition), Elizabeth Kelley, Editor (ABA Publishing 2024). Richard is also routinely appointed by federal judges to represent habeas corpus petitioners, and Zach’s law review article on ineffective assistance of counsel for non-citizens has been cited in briefs (including in the U.S. Supreme Court) and a treatise collecting worthy law reviews on post-conviction litigation.

Our Approach to Post-Conviction Practice

If you are seeking a post-conviction remedy, you’ve already met with multiple failures. You have pleaded guilty or blew trial, the intermediate court affirmed your conviction (or perhaps you waived appeal) on direct appeal, discretionary direct review, if any, has been denied, and the final mandate has issued. So, you are now hoping for a miracle — that the damage can somehow be undone or at least mitigated. Achieving this miracle is by no means an easy task because federal and state legislatures have erected numerous hurdles to jump through before your claims can be considered by a state or federal court.

We take a holistic approach to post-conviction litigation. Whether your claim involves the denial of effective assistance of counsel, newly discovered evidence, or something else, we review all relevant parts of the record, speak with all persons with pertinent information and – perhaps most importantly – speak with you, the client. We also work with numerous experts who can assist when particular expertise is required to fully understand and develop the issues we raise on your behalf. Where necessary we will make freedom of information requests under state and federal law and seek additional discovery through court orders after we file your claim. We then provide you our analysis of what relief may be available to you and how we would go about obtaining it.

However, in many instances we actually decline representation: If we don’t believe your claim has possible merit, we will advise you not to pursue it. In such cases we have no interest in taking your money, giving you false hope, or wasting your -- or our -0 time.

Some Examples of our Post-Conviction Successes

As experienced post-conviction counsel we have the knowledge and experience to explain to you, at great length, the process of challenging your conviction after appeal, and we generally explain this process to clients when we meet with them. But, understandably, your first question might be: Can you give me some examples of your successful post-conviction representations? Of course. Here are a few of them:

People v. Lanier, 191 A.D.3d 1094 (3d Dep’t 2021) (attempted murder conviction reversed because counsel did not investigate alibi witness proffered by client)
Lopez v. Miller, 915 F. Supp. 2d 373 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (same for murder conviction)
People v. McGettigan, 2011-1647 (Westchester Co. 2018) (guilty plea vacated because client not given proper warnings regarding deportation; deportation avoided)
People v. Canales, 110 A.D.3d 731 (2d Dep’t 2013) (client’s conviction vacated because counsel wrongly conceded person in video shown to the jury was the victim),
United States v. Chowdhury, 2:12-cr-143 (E.D.N.Y. 2019) (court and counsel had miscalculated the applicable federal sentencing guidelines; 48-month sentence vacated and client re-sentenced to 24-months)
Arevalo v. Lee, No. 19-CV-6962 (GRB), 2024 WL 4694005 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 6, 2024) (conviction vacated after Levitt & Kaizer determined that DA’s office failed to disclose to client that his attorney was conflicted because the DA’s office was prosecuting the attorney while the attorney was representing the client.).
People v. Thompson, 7336/09 (Kings. Co. Ct. 2023) (Levitt & Kaizer found a document in the client’s files that led to our discovery of an old court record, resulting in a new plea as a result of which client was released from prison 7 years earlier).

Experience Matters

Post-conviction work is tricky. The stakes are high because post-conviction litigation is, typically, the client’s last chance to successfully attack a conviction. There are infinite moving parts in the post-conviction process, existing in an environment that disfavors relief. No matter how smart the lawyer, lack of experience with post-conviction remedies can result in mistakes that forever foreclose the possibility of relief in even the most meritorious cases. So give us a call to discuss your case.

A TYPTICAL "THANK YOU”

We’ve received many “thank yous” from our clients, many of which you can read here and here. Here’s one:

Amazing Attorney

Attorney Levitt is not only a great legal mind, he is also one of the most compassionate people I have ever met. Attorney Levitt and his staff have continually gone above and beyond to be of service to my family during an extremely trying time. His commitment to his clients goes unmatched. I highly recommend Attorney Levitt and his staff!

ADDITIONAL READING

For additional guidance regarding the issues raised in this article and concerning other areas of our practice you may want to read about our representation during federal and state criminal defense, investigations, appeals, , forfeiture and restitution, compassionate release applications, financial compensation for wrongful convictions, and civil litigation.

Contact Us

📞 Call Levitt & Kaizer: office (212) 480-4000 cell (917) 324-4000

📍 Office: 40 Fulton Street, Suite 1702, New York, NY 10038-1850

🖥️ Website: www.levittandkaizer.com