Former 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star Geoffrey Paschel has officially filed a Notice of Appeal hoping to overturn his conviction for aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault, and interference with an emergency call. In a bit of a surprise move, Geoffrey has dropped his high-profile criminal defense attorney, Gregory Isaacs.
As we previously reported, Geoffrey’s motion for a new trial was denied on June 24. That denial was expected and was essentially a necessary step in order to start the appeal process.
Geoffrey’s legal team had 30 days in which to file the appeal notice after the motion for a new trial was denied, and they did so on July 6. However, the Notice of Appeal is simply that. The filing has no additional information about Geoffrey’s arguments, but it is assumed they will be similar to those presented in his motion for a new trial.
The Notice of Appeal was not filed by Gregory Isaacs, who was Geoffrey’s attorney throughout the trial. It was filed by M. Jeffrey Whitt and Richard L. Gaines, two criminal defense attorneys from Knoxville. It’s unclear why Geoffrey chose to part ways with Gregory Isaacs, who is a very well-known attorney in Knoxville who often appears on Court TV — as he did just before and after Geoffrey’s trial.
When will Geoffrey Paschel’s appeal be heard?
Geoffrey’s fiancée/maybe-wife Varya Malina stated on Instagram that she was informed by Geoffrey’s legal team that there will likely be no new developments in his appeal process until the end of the year. That timeline matches up with what Delius & McKenzie, PLLC say about the Tennessee appeals process on their website:
How long does the appeals process take?
It depends. The short answer? It can take years – but the length of the appeal is largely determined by the resources of the courts. Once a notice of appeal is filed, the court clerk has 60 days to prepare the records. Then, each side has 30 days to present their briefs. In almost all cases, extensions of time are granted. It can easily be six months before your case is even ready to be “docketed” by the Appellate Court. Even after oral arguments, it is not uncommon for the Appellate Court to take several months to review the case and render a written opinion.
Combining what Varya and Delius & McKenzie have said, it sounds as though Geoffrey’s appeal will likely be docketed at some point towards the end of 2022. It will be at least several months after that before a decision is made, which means spring of 2023.
EXCLUSIVE! Convicted kidnapper and former #90DayFiance #BeforeThe90Days star Geoffrey Paschel officially files an appeal hoping to overturn his conviction and 18-year prison sentence. https://t.co/rdWe767den
— Starcasm (@starcasm) January 5, 2023
Until then, Geoffrey will likely continue to receive visitations from Varya and work on the book he is reportedly writing.
If Geoffrey’s appeal is denied, he will be forced to serve out the remainder of his 18-year sentence with no chance of parole. According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Geoffrey is scheduled to be released in July of 2039, just shy of his 62nd birthday.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
