CRIMINAL APPELLATE RECERTIFICATION

The applicant must satisfy the following requirements for recertification during the 5-year period immediately preceding the application date.

(a) Substantial Involvement. The applicant must have substantial involvement in the practice of law, of which at least 30 percent must have been spent in active participation in criminal appellate law, to demonstrate special competence as a criminal appellate lawyer. Substantial involvement includes brief writing, motion practice, oral arguments, and extraordinary writs.

(b) Appellate Actions. The applicant must have acted as an advocate or a judge for at least 10 criminal appellate actions. On good cause shown, for satisfaction in part of the 10 appellate actions, the criminal law certification committee may consider involvement in protracted litigation as defined in the rules for this certification area. An applicant who has completed at least 8 criminal appellate actions may substitute protracted litigation for 2 criminal appellate actions. The applicant may substitute up to 2 out-of-state criminal appellate actions. The applicant must obtain a letter from the applicant’s supervising judge stating the number of appellate actions in which the applicant participated while employed by that judge if any of the applicant’s appellate actions occurred while the applicant was a judicial clerk or staff attorney and the rules of court prevented the applicant from enumerating those appellate actions.

(c) Education. The applicant must complete 50 credit hours of approved continuing legal education for criminal appellate law certification.

(d) Peer Review.

(1) Lawyer References. The applicant must submit the names and addresses of at least 4 lawyers who are neither relatives nor current associates or partners to complete peer review forms. Such lawyers shall be substantially involved in criminal appellate law and familiar with the applicant’s practice.

(2) Judicial References. The applicant must submit the names and addresses of at least 2 judges before whom the applicant has appeared on criminal appellate matters during the 2-year period immediately preceding the filing of the application to complete peer review forms.

(e) Waiver of Compliance. On special application, for good cause shown, the criminal law certification committee may waive compliance with the appellate action criteria for an applicant who has been continuously certified as a criminal appellate lawyer for a period of 14 years or more, provided the applicant:

(1) satisfies the peer review and education required in subdivisions (c) and (d) of this rule; and,

(2) demonstrates substantial involvement in criminal appellate law defined, for purposes of this subdivision, as active participation in the appellate process, including the investigation and evaluation of criminal appeals, and the review of strategy and tactics for appeals. The applicant shall describe the extent of substantial involvement, including briefs written and oral arguments attended, since the last date of recertification.