[header] How to file an appeal while in prison [title] Distinguish between legal and factual issues. [step] An appeal isn't a new trial. Generally speaking, you can only appeal situations in which the judge at your trial made a mistake in the law, or in the application of the law to your case. 
[substeps] It can help to think of factual issues as the issues the jury decides. Legal issues, in contrast, are decisions made by the judge.