How does the federal appeals court work? how do you get the transcript from a sentencing hearing?

Whether you can appeal first depends on whether you waived your right to appeal in a plea agreement. It appears that you pled guilty instead of having gone to trial so you should make sure that you did not waive your right to appeal.

An appeal in the federal system begins with the filing of a notice of appeal. There are strict deadlines for appealing so you should file your notice immediately.

The record on appeal consists of the reporter's transcript and excerpts of record. The reporter needs to be contacted and he or she will prepare a verbatim copy of pertinent parts of your case , i.e. change of plea hearing and sentencing hearing. The excerpts of record are put together by your attorney and include variousl required documents and other documents pertinent to your appeal i.e. the plea agreement, sentencing exhibits.

An appeal can generally take a year or more. You (the appellant ) file an opening brief, then the government responds, then you can reply. Sometimes cases are set for oral argument.

The decision (opinion) is then rendered, usually the three justices of the Court of Appeal. Like any law firm, the federal defenders vary in their quality of representation. Some of them in the appellate divisions are very good at what they do since that is all they do.

It is rare that a sentence can be lengthened. Generally, this only occurs if the sentence imposed was illegal, for example you were subject to a a mandatory minimum term. Your attorney can advise you if there are any "adverse consequences" to your appeal.

Rarely, is an appeal "a waste of time" You probably have nothing to lose. Your attorney can give you an idea of your chance of prevailing on appeal.

Good luck. I practice in San Diego but we have the same appellate Court, "NInth Circuit Court of Appeals" Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii and Alaska.