COMPLEX CASES – CRIMINAL DOCTRINE

Criminal Doctrine & Appeals: High-Complexity Technical Defence

Q: I have been convicted and I am innocent. Can the verdict be reviewed?

Yes. Through a Cassation Appeal, errors of law and the assessment of evidence (judicial arbitrariness) can be reviewed. A conviction is not final until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. We analyse the technical flaws in the lower ruling and build the strongest grounds for appeal.

Q: The judge disregarded the evidence I submitted. Is that lawful?

No. This is known as 'Judicial Arbitrariness'. If the judge overlooked decisive evidence or based the decision solely on personal opinion, the ruling may be void. The Supreme Court requires that judgments be reasoned derivations of the law in force.

Q: If I appeal my conviction, will I be taken into custody immediately?

As a general rule, an appeal has 'suspensive effect', meaning the sentence is not enforced until the ruling becomes final (i.e. until the appeal is resolved). In the meantime, you retain your liberty or the status you held prior to the ruling, unless there is a risk of absconding.

Q: I feel my previous lawyer did not defend me adequately. Can I change counsel?

Yes. 'Ineffective defence' (indefensión) is a ground for nullity. If your previous lawyer failed to submit evidence, missed an appeal deadline or committed serious errors, it is possible to raise a state of defencelessness in order to set the proceedings back. We take on defences at any stage to correct the course of a case.

When a case appears lost, the difference lies in technical excellence. Our Master's programme in Criminal Law, Dr. Jacobo Iván Selser, enables us to dismantle the prosecution's case with technical-legal arguments that counsel without this specialisation often overlook.

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The Theory of the Offence Applied to Your Defence

1. Lack of Criminal Typicality (No Offence)

We argue that the conduct attributed to the accused, whilst it may have taken place, does not satisfy all the elements required by the Penal Code. For example: where criminal intent (the deliberate intention to cause harm) is absent, the act may lack typicality altogether.

2. Authorship and Participation

We establish your precise role in the alleged offence. If you were not the principal offender but merely a secondary participant, the sentence is reduced. It is crucial to distinguish between the principal, the co-principal and necessary versus secondary participation.

3. Procedural Nullities

We examine every step of the investigation — searches, wiretaps and seizures. If a constitutional guarantee or procedural requirement was violated, the evidence must be declared inadmissible, leaving the prosecution's case without foundation.

Appeal, Cassation and Extraordinary Remedy

If you have been convicted at first instance or your pre-trial detention has been upheld, the process is not over. We pursue your defence to the highest judicial levels:

Chamber Appeal: Review of detention or sentence.
Cassation Appeal: Correction of errors in the assessment of fact, law or evidence in the judgment.
Supreme Courts and the Supreme Court of Justice: Final instance before the local Supreme Courts and, thereafter, before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

Publications & Legal Doctrine

Access our publications: case-law analysis, applied criminal doctrine and appellate strategies. Clear, technical material for understanding judicial reasoning and building a sound defence.

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Frequently Asked Questions on Appeals and Convictions

Yes. Through a Cassation Appeal, errors of law and the assessment of evidence (judicial arbitrariness) can be reviewed. A conviction is not final until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. We analyse the technical flaws in the lower ruling and build the strongest grounds for appeal.

No. This is known as "Judicial Arbitrariness". If the judge overlooked decisive evidence or based the decision solely on personal opinion, the ruling may be void. The Supreme Court requires that judgments be reasoned derivations of the law in force.

As a general rule, an appeal has "suspensive effect". This means that the sentence is not enforced until the ruling becomes final (i.e. until the appeal is resolved). In the meantime, you retain your liberty or the status you held prior to the ruling, unless there is a risk of absconding.

Yes. "Ineffective defence" (indefensión) is a ground for nullity. If your previous lawyer failed to submit evidence, missed an appeal deadline or committed serious errors, it is possible to raise a state of defencelessness in order to set the proceedings back. We take on defences at any stage to correct the course of a case.

Absolutely. The Court of Criminal Cassation is a highly technical appellate court, sitting below the Supreme Court, where pure points of law are argued. It is a technical court where pure points of law are argued. Many convictions handed down by oral tribunals are overturned at cassation level due to misapplication of the law (lack of criminal typicality, procedural nullities).

If the police entered without a judicial warrant and without urgent justification, the procedure is unlawful. We raise a Nullity petition and a motion to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence (exclusión probatoria): everything seized (drugs, weapons, documents) may not be used as evidence, which often leaves the prosecution without a substantive case.

Doctrine topics you may find relevant

Direct links to applied criminal doctrine, procedural nullities and appellate resources — practical reading to ground your case in legal theory.

Theory of the Offence (Spanish)

Typicality & Objective Imputation (Spanish)

Unlawfulness & Justifying Necessity (Spanish)

Culpability, Inexigibility & Excuses (Spanish)

Intent & Negligence (ex culpa) (Spanish)

Authorship & Participation (Spanish)

Attempt, Abandonment & Sentencing (Spanish)

Self-Defence (Spanish)

Real & Ideal Concurrence of Offences (Spanish)

Constitutional Guarantees (Spanish)

Purpose of Punishment (Spanish)

Publications & Legal Doctrine

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Criminal Doctrine & Appeals: High-Complexity Technical Defence

The Theory of the Offence Applied to Your Defence

1. Lack of Criminal Typicality (No Offence)

2. Authorship and Participation

3. Procedural Nullities

Appeal, Cassation and Extraordinary Remedy

Publications & Legal Doctrine

Frequently Asked Questions on Appeals and Convictions

I have been convicted and I am innocent. Can the verdict be reviewed?

The judge disregarded the evidence I submitted. Is that lawful?

If I appeal my conviction, will I be taken into custody immediately?

I feel my previous lawyer did not defend me adequately. Can I change counsel?

Is it worth appealing to the Cassation Court?

My house was searched without a warrant. Does that invalidate the case?

Doctrine topics you may find relevant