Appeal
From Encyclopædia
An appeal, in law, is the procedure in which a higher court is asked to review a decision of a lower court. In a civil suit, either party may appeal a court verdict; in a criminal
case, only a convicted defendant has the right of appeal.An appeal is usually based on grounds that the trial court erred in matters of law--for instance, by allowing or disallowing certain
evidence or by giving prejudicial instructions to the jury. The discovery of new
evidence is another basis for appeal. The interpretation of
evidence--deciding whether the judge or jury drew the wrong conclusions from the
evidence presented--is not ordinarily a basis for appeal.The higher (appellate) court (see
COURT OF APPEALS) may affirm or reverse the lower (trial) court decision, or it may remand--that is, send back--the
case to the trial court for additional findings of fact and conclusions of law or, sometimes, for the taking of additional testimony. In remanding the
case to a lower court, the higher court will state specifically whether it retains jurisdiction. In handing
Down rulings over the years, appellate courts build up a body of precedents, or judge-made law, that trial courts are obliged to follow.After the highest appeals court in a state has ruled, an appeal may be carried to the U.S. federal courts only if it can be argued that federal law has been violated or constitutional rights denied. The court of last resort is the SUPREME COURT OF THE
United States, which grants review by permission only and deals primarily with legal, rather than factual, questions.
