The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender's (NJOPD) Criminal Appellate Section is located in Newark, New Jersey. With one Deputy Public Defender and other supporting staff, the Office of NJOPD's Appellate Section (Criminal) provides representation in the appeals filed to adults and juvenile from rulings in their New Jersey trial court cases. A direct appeal to the New Jersey Appellate Division of a trial court verdict is a right in New Jersey. Therefore, most referrals to the NJOPD Appellate Section come from defendants who previously had been represented through the NJOPD trial regions. However, direct representation applications are also received and acted on from people not initially represented by the NJOPD at the trial level. In both cases, appeals typically deal with the more significant constitutional issues raised by how the trial was conducted rather than simply with the individual facts presented at trial. After filing a Notice of Appeal, the appellate attorney prepares to handle a case by reviewing the trial's transcript, interviewing the defendant in the case, and doing research to identify problems that occurred at trial that might become the subject matter of the appeal. Please visit their website for who qualifies for representation by the Public Defender's Office and how and when you can apply.