The Appeals Process
When a person’s civil suit is heard in one of the United States District Courts (part of the federal court system), he or she has access to the appellate courts in the event that the original court case did not go to his or her liking. Just because the jury didn’t side with a plaintiff or defendant does not mean that an appeal is valid. Appeals should really only be used when there was something wrong in the district court. There needs to be a question law at issue for an appeal to be valid.
For instance, arguing that a judge made a grave error in the instructions given to the jury could be a cause for an appeal. Or if the judge or jury assigned the wrong form of damages, an appeal could be valid.
Any litigant that files an appeal, known as the appellant, must be able to show that the trial court or administrative agency that decided the original case made a legal error that affected the outcome of the case. The court of the appeals, when the case is accepted, will make its decision on the case based on the record of the original case. It does not receive additional evidence from the parties or hear witnesses.
In some very rare cases, the court of appeals may also review the factual findings of the trial court or administrative agency that handled the original case. While they may review the facts, the appeals courts typically may only overturn a decision based on the facts of the case if the findings were “clearly erroneous.”
Unlike the district court or agency where only one judge is used, appeals are decided by panels of three judges that work together. These judges work together in forming an opinion on what should be done with the case. Basically, the appellant is trying to convince or persuade the judges that the trial court made an error and that the decision should be reversed through its brief. The appellee, or the person that is defending against the appeal, is working on convincing the judges, through its brief, that the district court did not make a mistake. The other option for the appellee is to show how any error made really wasn’t significant enough to affect the case.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
For instance, arguing that a judge made a grave error in the instructions given to the jury could be a cause for an appeal. Or if the judge or jury assigned the wrong form of damages, an appeal could be valid.
Any litigant that files an appeal, known as the appellant, must be able to show that the trial court or administrative agency that decided the original case made a legal error that affected the outcome of the case. The court of the appeals, when the case is accepted, will make its decision on the case based on the record of the original case. It does not receive additional evidence from the parties or hear witnesses.
In some very rare cases, the court of appeals may also review the factual findings of the trial court or administrative agency that handled the original case. While they may review the facts, the appeals courts typically may only overturn a decision based on the facts of the case if the findings were “clearly erroneous.”
Unlike the district court or agency where only one judge is used, appeals are decided by panels of three judges that work together. These judges work together in forming an opinion on what should be done with the case. Basically, the appellant is trying to convince or persuade the judges that the trial court made an error and that the decision should be reversed through its brief. The appellee, or the person that is defending against the appeal, is working on convincing the judges, through its brief, that the district court did not make a mistake. The other option for the appellee is to show how any error made really wasn’t significant enough to affect the case.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
For more information on the appeals process and how the entire civil system works, please visit http://www.attorneyillinois.net.
Joseph Devine
significant US court cases
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