Michigan Criminal Appeal Attorneys
Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC is a Michigan law firm representing individuals in criminal defense matters, criminal appeals, and post-conviction proceedings. The firm’s practice combines extensive trial-court experience with substantial appellate experience, allowing its attorneys to evaluate criminal cases from both perspectives.
The firm represents clients facing criminal charges in Michigan courts and individuals seeking review of criminal convictions and sentences. Its appellate work includes Michigan Court of Appeals matters, applications for leave to appeal, sentencing appeals, ineffective assistance of counsel claims, motions for relief from judgment, and matters involving potential review by the Michigan Supreme Court.
James Czarnecki. Trial-Tested. Appellate Experienced. A Criminal Defense Attorney Who Understands Both Sides of the Record.
James Czarnecki has more than two decades of experience in criminal law, including criminal trials, motions, evidentiary hearings, plea negotiations, sentencing proceedings, and appeals. His appellate practice is informed by extensive experience representing defendants at the trial-court level—experience that can be particularly valuable when reviewing a record to identify preserved errors, ineffective assistance of counsel, evidentiary issues, sentencing errors, and other potential grounds for appellate relief.
Czarnecki’s legal background includes experience with the State Appellate Defender Office, Federal Defender, and Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. During law school at Wayne State University Law School, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Moot Court program. His practice has included serious felony cases as well as appellate litigation in Michigan courts.
His appellate work includes cases resulting in significant relief for criminal defendants, including reversals and published appellate decisions. The firm’s Michigan Docket legal articles also analyze appellate procedure, Michigan criminal cases, constitutional issues, sentencing law, and developments affecting criminal defendants.
James Czarnecki’s strength as a criminal defense attorney does not begin—or end—with appeals. He is an experienced trial lawyer who has spent his career representing people at virtually every stage of a criminal case in state and federal court. He has handled serious felony and misdemeanor cases, jury trials, bench trials, preliminary examinations, evidentiary hearings, suppression motions, plea negotiations, sentencing proceedings, criminal appeals, and post-conviction litigation. His trial record includes and is not limited to not-guilty verdicts in cases involving serious charges, including criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to murder, attempt to commit great bodily harm less than murder, and aggravated domestic violence.
Czarnecki has also obtained the dismissal of criminal charges through extensive pretrial litigation and motion practice. His work has included successfully challenging unlawfully obtained evidence, improper identification procedures, illegal searches and seizures, and other constitutional violations. Through motions to suppress evidence, challenges to the admissibility of identification testimony, and other substantive legal motions, he has secured dismissals and favorable outcomes for clients before their cases proceeded to trial.
His trial experience encompasses all stages of criminal proceedings, including preliminary examinations, evidentiary hearings, jury trials, sentencing, and post-conviction litigation. This extensive courtroom background provides an important foundation for his appellate practice, allowing him to examine criminal proceedings from the perspective of an attorney who has personally litigated serious criminal cases before judges and juries.
That experience matters because effective criminal defense is not simply about going to trial. It is about knowing when to fight, how to fight, and which legal strategy gives the client the best opportunity for a favorable outcome. James has negotiated resolutions in which charges were reduced or dismissed and clients avoided convictions or incarceration. At the same time, when a case requires litigation, he has experience challenging evidence, examining witnesses, presenting defenses to juries, litigating constitutional issues, and taking cases through verdict. His firm’s biography states that he has litigated more than a thousand cases and obtained acquittals in both felony and misdemeanor matters.
Why Trial Experience Makes James a Stronger Appellate Attorney
What makes James particularly formidable is the combination of substantial trial experience and appellate experience. An appellate lawyer reviews a trial record looking for what went wrong—but James has also been the lawyer standing in the courtroom making objections, cross-examining witnesses, litigating motions, negotiating pleas, presenting cases to juries, and making the strategic decisions from which an appellate record is created.
That gives him an important perspective when reviewing another lawyer’s work. He understands not only what an appellate brief should argue, but what should have happened in the courtroom in the first place. When reviewing a conviction, he can examine whether counsel should have objected, whether a motion should have been filed, whether evidence should have been challenged, whether cross-examination was inadequate, whether a constitutional issue was missed, whether a plea was properly handled, or whether the record should have been developed differently. His appellate practice includes matters before the Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Supreme Court, and federal courts.
That combination works in the other direction as well. Appellate experience can make a lawyer more effective in the trial court. An attorney who has spent years dissecting trial records and studying why convictions are reversed develops an appreciation for preservation of error, constitutional protections, evidentiary rules, standards of review, and the importance of building a clean record. James understands that what happens during a preliminary examination, motion hearing, plea, trial, or sentencing may determine what can—and cannot—be successfully argued months or years later on appeal.
From the Courtroom to the Court of Appeals
This is one of the qualities that distinguishes James Czarnecki’s criminal-defense practice. He is not simply a trial attorney who occasionally handles appeals, nor an appellate attorney whose experience is confined to reading transcripts and writing briefs. His career has involved both.
He has stood before juries seeking acquittals. He has challenged the government’s evidence through motions. He has negotiated pleas when negotiation offered the client the better outcome. He has litigated evidentiary and constitutional issues. And after convictions, he has examined trial records, developed post-conviction claims, pursued evidentiary hearings, written appellate briefs, and challenged convictions and sentences in higher courts.
The firm’s appellate practice is strengthened by James Czarnecki’s substantial experience in Michigan criminal appeals. His work includes representation in the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court and the litigation of complex constitutional and post-conviction issues. One documented example is People v. Gonzalez-Raymundo, 308 Mich App 175 (2014), where Czarnecki represented the defendant on appeal in litigation that ultimately resulted in a new trial and a published Michigan Court of Appeals decision addressing the constitutional rights of defendants requiring language interpretation.
Having personally tried serious felony cases, challenged unlawfully obtained evidence, litigated identification issues, and secured not-guilty verdicts, Czarnecki brings substantial trial experience to the examination of appellate records. He understands how constitutional and procedural errors can arise during criminal proceedings and how those errors may affect the validity of a conviction or sentence.
That combination of trial experience and appellate analysis can make James Czarnecki a formidable criminal advocate. He understands how criminal cases are built, how they are defended, how mistakes become part of the record, and how those mistakes may later become appellate issues. Whether the best strategy requires negotiation, a pretrial motion, an evidentiary hearing, a jury trial, or an appeal, his experience allows him to examine the case from more than one perspective.
Czarnecki’s appellate work includes challenges to criminal convictions and sentences involving constitutional violations, insufficient evidence, sentencing errors, and post-conviction claims. His experience includes cases resulting in overturned convictions, resentencing, and other appellate relief.
His work in cases such as People v. McClure, People v. Pena, and People v. Mario Smith illustrates his approach to appellate advocacy: carefully examining the record, identifying legally significant issues, and developing arguments grounded in the facts and governing law. His involvement in constitutional litigation concerning the right to appellate counsel further reflects the breadth of his appellate experience.
Through Michigan Docket, Czarnecki publishes legal analysis, discussions of Michigan appellate decisions, and case studies drawn from actual criminal proceedings. His objective is to provide individuals and families with a clearer understanding of Michigan criminal appeals, post-conviction remedies, and the legal issues that may warrant further judicial review.
Genevieve Taylor: Criminal Defense Experience Combined With Judicial Experience
Genevieve L. Taylor brings a remarkably broad legal background to Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC. Her practice has included criminal defense, civil litigation, family law, divorce, child-custody disputes, probate matters, and federal court litigation. That breadth of experience gives her a perspective that is especially valuable in cases where legal problems overlap with family, financial, professional, or other personal concerns.
Taylor is also a current magistrate serving in two courts, giving her substantial experience evaluating evidence, applying court rules and statutes, managing courtroom proceedings, and making decisions that directly affect the people appearing before the court. Her judicial experience provides a perspective few practicing attorneys possess: she understands not only how to advocate for a client, but also how legal arguments and evidence are evaluated from the bench.
As a criminal-defense attorney, Taylor has represented clients facing matters ranging from misdemeanor and traffic offenses to serious felony charges. Her approach emphasizes thorough preparation, practical judgment, and a careful understanding of both the law and the individual circumstances of the client. Genevieve L. Taylor brings extensive criminal-defense experience and the distinctive perspective of having served as a judicial officer. She has represented defendants charged with both misdemeanors and serious felonies in state and federal courts, including offenses carrying the possibility of life imprisonment. Her work has included trials, motion practice, plea negotiations, sentencing matters, and other contested criminal proceedings. She has successfully litigated motions resulting in the suppression of evidence and dismissal of criminal cases, and she has assisted with appellate matters resulting in overturned convictions.
Taylor also works closely with her law partner, James Czarnecki, on the firm’s criminal appellate practice. She assists with the review and development of criminal appeals and post-conviction matters, bringing her trial-court experience and broad litigation background to cases involving complex legal and factual issues. Her experience on both sides of the trial-and-appellate divide strengthens the firm’s ability to evaluate how an issue developed in the lower court and how it should be presented on review.
Her civil practice has included litigation in state courts. Taylor has represented clients in family-law matters involving divorce, custody, parenting-time disputes, and other difficult domestic-relations issues, as well as probate matters and other civil disputes. These areas require not only legal skill, but also the ability to manage emotionally charged situations, evaluate competing interests, and guide clients through decisions with lasting consequences.
Taylor’s legal career has also included experience with Dickinson Wright, where she interned in a major civil-law environment and was exposed to sophisticated litigation and professional practice. Earlier in her career, she also worked as a gaming supervisor, an experience that further developed her ability to manage people, resolve disputes, apply rules consistently, and make decisions under pressure.
Her background also includes experience with the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, where she gained exposure to criminal cases from the prosecution side of the system. Taken together, these experiences give Genevieve an understanding of criminal litigation from several different perspectives—defense counsel, prosecution experience, and judicial decision-making.
Her commitment to the justice system extends beyond private practice. Taylor has participated in the work of treatment courts, including service connected with treatment-court boards and programs focused on rehabilitation, accountability, and long-term outcomes. That experience has given her firsthand insight into how courts can address the underlying issues that often contribute to repeated involvement in the criminal justice system.
Taylor has also served on the Lakeview Public Schools Board of Education, reflecting a longstanding commitment to public service and to the community in which she lives and practices. Her work in education, treatment courts, and the judiciary complements her legal career and reflects an understanding that the law operates within a larger community.
A Career Focused on Criminal Defense and Improving the Justice System. Genevieve’s work has also extended beyond individual cases.
She and James Czarnecki conducted a comprehensive study concerning the quality of appointed criminal defense in Macomb County using standards developed by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. The project examined ways to improve the quality and constitutional adequacy of representation provided to indigent defendants. She has also participated in Macomb County criminal-defense initiatives and served in leadership involving the Macomb County Circuit Court drug-court community.
That work reflects an important part of Genevieve’s approach to criminal defense: a defendant deserves meaningful representation regardless of the accusation, background, or complexity of the case. Her firm’s biography describes her reputation for persistence and willingness to pursue every legitimate avenue available for a client.
She also understands that winning does not always mean taking a case to trial. Effective criminal defense requires knowing when evidence should be challenged, when a case should be litigated aggressively, and when negotiation can produce the better result. Genevieve has negotiated with prosecutors and city attorneys to obtain reduced or dismissed charges and resolutions designed to avoid incarceration when circumstances permit.
Genevieve Taylor brings extensive criminal-defense and courtroom experience to the firm, complementing its appellate capabilities with the perspective of an attorney experienced in defending clients where criminal cases begin—in Michigan’s trial courts. Together, Czarnecki and Taylor provide representation that does not treat criminal defense and criminal appeals as unrelated disciplines. The same understanding of constitutional law, evidence, courtroom strategy, preservation of issues, and criminal procedure that matters at trial can become critically important when a case reaches the appellate courts.
Why the Combination Matters
The strength of Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC comes not simply from the experience of either attorney individually, but from the different perspectives James Czarnecki and Genevieve Taylor bring to a criminal case. Together, their backgrounds encompass criminal trials, plea negotiations, evidentiary motions, constitutional litigation, criminal appeals, post-conviction proceedings, and judicial experience. That combination allows the firm to examine a criminal case from multiple angles—from what happens when a person is first accused, through trial and sentencing, and, when necessary, through the appellate and post-conviction process.
Trial Experience and Appellate Experience
Effective appellate representation requires more than the ability to research and write a legal brief. An appellate lawyer must understand how a criminal case develops in the trial court, how issues are preserved for review, how evidentiary rulings affect the record, how trial strategy interacts with claims of ineffective assistance, and how sentencing decisions can create appellate issues.
Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC’s criminal practice provides that perspective. The firm approaches appellate review by carefully examining the record, identifying potentially significant legal issues, researching the governing law, and developing focused appellate arguments.
Michigan Criminal Appeals and Post-Conviction Representation
The firm’s appellate practice includes matters involving:
• Michigan Court of Appeals
• Applications for leave to appeal
• Appeals following criminal trials
• Appeals following guilty or no-contest pleas
• Sentencing appeals
• Ineffective assistance of counsel
• Insufficient evidence claims
• Prosecutorial misconduct
• Evidentiary and constitutional errors
• Michigan Supreme Court applications
• MCR 6.500 motions for relief from judgment
Discuss Your Michigan Criminal Appeal
If you or a family member is considering an appeal, challenging a criminal sentence, or seeking post-conviction relief, Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC can discuss your case and the potential options for further review.
The firm also represents individuals facing pending misdemeanor and felony charges throughout Michigan. Contact our office to discuss your case and determine whether representation may be appropriate.Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC also represents individuals facing criminal charges in Michigan trial courts. The firm’s criminal defense practice includes misdemeanor and felony matters, pretrial motions, evidentiary hearings, plea negotiations, trials, sentencing, and other stages of criminal proceedings.
Maintaining an active trial-level criminal defense practice also benefits the firm’s appellate work. Understanding what should occur before and during trial can be essential when later determining whether an error warrants appellate review.
Contact Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC
When your freedom, reputation, family, and future may depend upon the outcome of a criminal case, choosing the right attorneys matters. Czarnecki & Taylor approaches criminal cases with the understanding that sometimes the most important issue is obvious—and sometimes it is buried in hundreds or thousands of pages of transcripts waiting for an experienced attorney to find it. Whether you need a lawyer to defend you in the trial court or an appellate attorney to examine what went wrong after a conviction contact Czarnecki & Taylor PLLC.