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Overturning a conviction? (The Fugitive)
Sep. 8th, 2023 07:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doranwenMost of you have probably seen The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, among others. I'm trying to write a fic for it, set right after the film ends, and have been struggling to figure out Richard Kimble's legal situation. For anyone who hasn't seen the film, I'll summarize the key points (and spoil you completely, so you might not want to read further if you plan on watching it):
( Spoilers )
All that said and done, I'm trying to figure out what he can actually DO about getting himself freed. A few searches come up with overturning a conviction? This page says appeal or writ. From what I could find (but admittedly this is very fuzzy searching) appeals have a limited time requirement, and assuming nothing was filed right at the trial conviction (his lawyer/attorney was terrible), one has to factor in his escape and however long the manhunt took. (The movie's fuzzy on that too, I'm thinking a few weeks at most but am open to hearing someone else's opinion.) I'm guessing it's too late to appeal. Which leaves a writ, from what that page said?
I'm just having a really hard time taking the general pages I'm finding in search and drilling it down to "this is what they're going to do next". Like, obviously finding a new lawyer is a top priority… Can anyone help who *can* see the pathway for what happens next? My characters know it, I just don't, which makes it hard to write, lol.
( Spoilers )
All that said and done, I'm trying to figure out what he can actually DO about getting himself freed. A few searches come up with overturning a conviction? This page says appeal or writ. From what I could find (but admittedly this is very fuzzy searching) appeals have a limited time requirement, and assuming nothing was filed right at the trial conviction (his lawyer/attorney was terrible), one has to factor in his escape and however long the manhunt took. (The movie's fuzzy on that too, I'm thinking a few weeks at most but am open to hearing someone else's opinion.) I'm guessing it's too late to appeal. Which leaves a writ, from what that page said?
I'm just having a really hard time taking the general pages I'm finding in search and drilling it down to "this is what they're going to do next". Like, obviously finding a new lawyer is a top priority… Can anyone help who *can* see the pathway for what happens next? My characters know it, I just don't, which makes it hard to write, lol.
