Hello Jacustomer,

Unfortunately, 27 years after you have been convicted of a criminal offense, you can no longer appeal it. A defendant only has 30 days to file a notice of appeal after a conviction and even then you wouldn't get much more than a year to file the appeal itself. At this point in time, about the only way you could legally reopen the case would be if you had newly discovered evidence which could not have been available at the time and which, had the state been aware of it, would have resulted in your matter being dismissed. Unfortunately, from what you're saying there's no such evidence in your case.

One thing that can sometimes be available would be to just apply to have your conviction expunged from your record. Unfortunately, however, states are all very different about what they will remove from a record, and Florida is strict. They will not erase an adult conviction. They only will remove unprosecuted arrests, or dismissals. So that too is not an avenue you can pursue.

There's a longer than long longshot, where you could hire a private attorney and see if he could convince the judge to just dismiss your old case in the interest of justice. This is an unusual remedy and not one that many judges will even consider. What it says, basically, is "I know that the law is against me and won't let me overturn my conviction, but please do it for me anyway, because it's the right thiing to do." Judges do have the power to do this to prevent an injustice, though they don't like to exercise it. If your lawyer can show a compelling reason that is more important than the state's desire to have their convictions stick, it can be done. You could not do this without a lawyer, however, and it would likely be an expensive procedure with a low likelihood of success.

Finally, there is one other remedy open to you. You could try to get a pardon granted from the Florida governor. It's free, you can do it for yourself without a lawyer, and you have nothing to lose. You can read about it and get the forms to fill out here. The office of Executive Clemency does the screening for the governor. A pardon would not erase your felony but would be official proof that the highest official in the state believes you are rehabilitated. It's hard to get, but, if you've gone 20 years without getting in any further trouble, your circumstances will be far more favorable than for many other applicants.

Good luck!