Elizabeth Franklin-Best is the principal attorney of Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C., a federal criminal defense and appellate firm. Over more than two decades, she has appeared in more than 330 federal proceedings — over 100 of them appeals — and is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and twelve of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals, building a practice concentrated where federal cases are most often won or lost on the record: appeals, capital habeas, and post-conviction relief. Chambers USA ranks her in its 2026 guide for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, and The Best Lawyers in America 2026 names her a “Best Lawyer” in Appellate Practice. She is the author of Reversing Your Criminal Conviction, a guide to challenging federal convictions and sentences.
Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C., offers a paid, one-hour initial consultation to review a federal matter and discuss the options.
Credentials
Role
- Principal Attorney & Founder
Education
- J.D., University of Wyoming College of Law (2001)
- M.A., Philosophy, University of Wyoming
State Bar Admissions
- South Carolina (2004) — active & in good standing
- New York (2002) — active & in good standing
Federal Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of the United States (2011)
- Twelve of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals — every regional circuit (First through Eleventh) and the D.C. Circuit
- Seven U.S. District Courts — South Carolina, District of Columbia, Southern District of Texas, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Michigan, Maryland, and Northern District of Ohio
- Additional federal courts pro hac vice nationwide
Recognition
- Chambers USA, 2026 — Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
- Best Lawyers in America, 2026 — Appellate Practice
- South Carolina Public Defender of the Year, 2010
- Avvo 10.0 “Superb”; Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated
Author
- Reversing Your Criminal Conviction (2023)
Practice Focus
- Federal appeals
- Post-conviction relief (§ 2255 and § 2254)
- Capital habeas corpus
- Federal criminal defense
- Compassionate release
Verified Profiles
Overview
Elizabeth Franklin-Best is a federal criminal defense and appellate attorney and the principal of Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. Her practice is devoted to the federal system — federal trials, direct appeals to the United States Courts of Appeals, compassionate release, and post-conviction proceedings under federal law.
Over more than twenty years, she has built a practice centered on the most technically demanding parts of federal cases: appeals, post-conviction petitions, capital habeas litigation, and the close review of a trial record for the issues that can change an outcome. That work has produced sixteen published decisions in which she served as counsel of record and has, pro hac vice, carried her into federal courts from California to Florida. Her book, Reversing Your Criminal Conviction, distills the appellate side of that practice for defendants and the families standing beside them.
Federal Criminal Defense and Appellate Practice
Elizabeth Franklin-Best represents clients across the federal criminal process — from investigation and charging through trial and sentencing — and her defining strength is appellate and post-conviction work.
That work includes direct appeals to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, motions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, compassionate release motions, and other forms of post-conviction relief. It is detailed, record-intensive work governed by strict deadlines, and it rewards the kind of focused experience that defines her practice. She founded Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C., where she practices alongside Christopher Zoukis, the firm’s Managing Director.
Federal-court admission is distinct from state licensure. Our federal courts directory explains the firm’s relationship with each U.S. District Court.
Approach to Client Representation
Every engagement begins the same way: with a complete reading of the record and a candid assessment of where the case actually stands. Defendants and families facing the federal system are best served by counsel who tells them the truth about their situation — including when an argument is weak or a deadline has narrowed the options — and then does the disciplined, record-intensive work the case requires. No lawyer can promise a particular outcome in federal court, and this firm does not; what it offers is rigorous work and an honest appraisal at every step.
In appellate and post-conviction work, the issues that matter are often buried in the record and bounded by hard deadlines. The value of experienced counsel is in finding those issues early and acting on them in time.
That representation begins with a paid, one-hour initial consultation — a substantive working session in which we help clients chart the path forward.
Publications and Thought Leadership
Elizabeth Franklin-Best writes for both the defendants her practice serves and the lawyers who litigate alongside her. Her book, Reversing Your Criminal Conviction: Develop Your Winning Strategy (2023), is a practical guide to challenging federal convictions and sentences on appeal and in post-conviction proceedings, written for defendants and the families by their side.
Her practitioner-facing writing includes:
- “How Justices’ Habeas Ruling Limits Compassionate Release” — Law360 Expert Analysis (2026)
- “Federal Compassionate Release: A Complete Guide” — Best Lawyers (2025)
- “What the Justices’ Bowe Ruling Could Mean for Federal Prisoners” — Law360 Expert Analysis (2025)
- “Harjo v. City of Albuquerque: A Road Map for Challenging Policing for Profits” — The Champion (NACDL), with David B. Smith (2019)
- “Biting the Apple: The Obligations of Post-Conviction Relief Counsel” — South Carolina Lawyer (2017)
She is also a frequent continuing legal education (CLE) speaker on appellate brief writing, federal post-conviction procedure, and white-collar defense, and has helped organize white-collar seminars with the South Carolina chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Professional Leadership and Service
Elizabeth Franklin-Best holds leadership roles in the national organizations that set the standard for criminal defense and appellate practice:
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) — Co-Vice Chair, Amicus Curiae Committee (Fourth Circuit)
- Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) — charter member and co-leader of the South Carolina chapter
- American Bar Association — White Collar Crime and International White Collar Crime Committees
- Justice 360 — Board Chair of the South Carolina nonprofit dedicated to fairness and equity in capital and juvenile cases
- Member, International Bar Association; Federal Bar Association (South Carolina Chapter); and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
A Federal Appellate and Post-Conviction Record
The clearest measure of an appellate and post-conviction practice is the published record it leaves behind — the decisions in which a court of appeals or a federal district court engaged the arguments counsel made. Elizabeth Franklin-Best has served as counsel of record in sixteen published decisions, concentrated in the areas that define her practice: federal direct appeals, capital habeas corpus, and post-conviction relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and § 2255. A selection appears below, grouped by the kind of work each represents. These are matters of public record offered to show the depth and range of that experience; they are not a prediction or guarantee of the result in any other case.
Federal Direct Appeals
She has briefed and argued direct appeals across the federal circuits. In the Fourth Circuit, she served as appellate counsel in United States v. Slager, 912 F.3d 224 (4th Cir. 2019), a sentencing appeal arising from a widely reported federal civil rights prosecution. In the Second Circuit, she was counsel in United States v. Frias, 102 F.4th 98 (2d Cir. 2024); in the Tenth Circuit, counsel in United States v. Joseph, 108 F.4th 1273 (10th Cir. 2024). Her admissions reach the Supreme Court of the United States and twelve of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals, and her appellate work spans the full range of federal offenses and sentencing questions.
Capital Habeas and Federal Post-Conviction Relief
Much of her practice is devoted to collateral review — the petitions that follow a final judgment. She has served as capital habeas counsel in Wood v. Stirling, 27 F.4th 269 (4th Cir. 2022), and Morva v. Zook, 821 F.3d 517 (4th Cir. 2016), and as counsel in non-capital § 2254 proceedings including King v. Riley, 76 F.4th 259 (4th Cir. 2023), Vandross v. Stirling, 986 F.3d 442 (4th Cir. 2021), and Bryant v. Stephan, 998 F.3d 128 (4th Cir. 2021). In Bennett v. Stirling, 170 F. Supp. 3d 851 (D.S.C. 2016), a federal district court granted habeas relief in a capital case after finding that racial bias had infected the sentencing — a decision that remains a matter of public record on the role of racial prejudice in capital sentencing.
Landmark Resentencing Litigation
She was counsel in Aiken v. Byars, 410 S.C. 534, 765 S.E.2d 572 (2014), a landmark decision applying Miller v. Alabama to require new, individualized sentencing hearings for a group of defendants who had received lengthy sentences for offenses committed as juveniles. The decision is regularly cited as a leading authority on juvenile sentencing and the constitutional limits on the punishment of the young.
Capital Defense
Earlier in her career, capital litigation was a core part of her practice. She served as capital habeas counsel in matters including Wood v. Stirling, 27 F.4th 269 (4th Cir. 2022), and Morva v. Zook, 821 F.3d 517 (4th Cir. 2016), and secured federal habeas relief in the capital case Bennett v. Stirling, 170 F. Supp. 3d 851 (D.S.C. 2016), where a federal court found that racial bias had infected the sentencing. That experience — among the most demanding in the federal system — informs the federal criminal defense and appellate practice to which she now devotes her work.
Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every matter is different, and the published decisions described above are offered as evidence of experience, not as a promise of any particular result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Elizabeth Franklin-Best?
Elizabeth Franklin-Best is a federal criminal defense and appellate attorney and the principal of Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. She has practiced in the federal system for more than two decades, focusing on appeals and post-conviction relief.
What courts is Elizabeth Franklin-Best admitted to?
She is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, and twelve of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals — every regional circuit and the D.C. Circuit — and to seven U.S. District Courts, and she is licensed by the South Carolina Bar and the New York State Bar. She appears in other districts through pro hac vice admission.
Has Elizabeth Franklin-Best been recognized in her field?
Yes. In 2026, she is ranked by Chambers USA for Litigation: White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations and listed in Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Practice. She was named South Carolina Public Defender of the Year in 2010 and is the author of Reversing Your Criminal Conviction.
What kind of cases does she focus on?
Her practice is devoted to federal criminal defense, with a defining strength in appellate and post-conviction work — direct appeals, Section 2255 motions, ineffective-assistance claims, and compassionate release. She also handles federal trial-level defense.
Does she handle cases outside South Carolina?
Yes. Federal criminal law is national. She represents clients in U.S. District Courts and Courts of Appeals across the country, appearing directly where she is admitted and through pro hac vice admission elsewhere.
Has Elizabeth Franklin-Best published work in her field?
Yes. She is the author of Reversing Your Criminal Conviction (2023) and has written for Law360, Best Lawyers, The Champion (NACDL), and South Carolina Lawyer on federal compassionate release, post-conviction procedure, and appellate practice. She is also a frequent CLE speaker on appellate writing and federal post-conviction relief.
How can I consult with Elizabeth Franklin-Best?
The firm offers a paid, one-hour initial consultation that can be scheduled through our booking page. It is a substantive review of the matter and the available options.
What notable cases has Elizabeth Franklin-Best handled?
She has served as counsel of record in sixteen published decisions. They include federal direct appeals such as United States v. Slager in the Fourth Circuit, United States v. Frias in the Second Circuit, and United States v. Joseph in the Tenth Circuit; capital habeas and post-conviction matters including Wood v. Stirling, Morva v. Zook, King v. Riley, Vandross v. Stirling, Bryant v. Stephan, and Bennett v. Stirling; and the landmark juvenile-resentencing decision Aiken v. Byars. These are matters of public record and do not predict the outcome of any other case.
Does Elizabeth Franklin-Best handle capital and death penalty cases?
Yes. Capital habeas corpus is a core part of her practice. She has served as capital habeas counsel in cases including Wood v. Stirling and Morva v. Zook, and obtained federal habeas relief in the capital case Bennett v. Stirling.
Talk With a Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
Whether your federal case is approaching trial, on appeal, or already final, the best next step is a careful review of the record. Schedule a paid, one-hour initial consultation with a federal appeals lawyer who has spent her career inside this system.