The Connecticut Office of Chief Public Defender Legal Services Unit Hartford is a branch chief public defender office in the state of Connecticut. It is located in the city of Hartford. The Legal Services Unit is responsible for representing eligible people on direct appeal and in habeas appeals, to review the fairness and the process by which clients were convicted or lost their habeas cases. To qualify for representation on direct appeal, a person must have been convicted of a crime and have a risk of incarceration, and additionally must have been found indigent by a trial court judge. To qualify for representation in a habeas appeal, a person must have lost his or her habeas case, and must have been found indigent by a trial court judge. An appeal is a review of the on-the-record proceedings in the trial court. Because it involves reviewing what happened in the trial court, no new evidence is allowed to be presented in an appeal. The appellate lawyer reads the entire transcript of the trial court proceedings, reviews the exhibits and the entire court file (including any motions and requests to charge filed by trial attorneys) identifies possible legal errors, and researches the law applicable to the case. For more information on the services of the Connecticut Office of Chief Public Defender Legal Services Unit Hartford, please contact them directly.