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Pro se notice of appeal liberally construed

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In US v. Aswa Mills, No. 10-1542 (Feb. 9, 2011) (click here), the Circuit ruled that a notice of appeal, especially if pro se, should be construed liberally and should be deemed adequate as long as it is "reasonably clear" under all the circumstances which judgment the party seeks to appeal.Mills filed pro se notice of appeal shortly after his murder conviction, but gave the case number and trial date for an earlier assault case -- a case for which he had already fully served his sentence and had withdrawn an appeal. The Court reasoned that under the circumstances it should have been clear to the government that Mills intended to appeal from his murder conviction, not the expired assault conviction. In addition, the Court noted that the government could not show it was in any way prejudiced...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on February 14, 2011 (boomark / email).