An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any

court of law A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

that is empowered to hear a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

upon

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

from a

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

or other lower

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

. Appellate courts other than supreme courts are sometimes named as Intermediate appellate court. In much of the world, court systems are divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and considers factual

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

and

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

relevant to the case; at least one intermediate appellate court; and a

supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(or court of last resort) which primarily reviews the decisions of the intermediate courts, often on a discretionary basis. A particular court system's supreme court is its highest appellate court. Appellate courts nationwide can operate under varying rules. Under its

standard of review In law, the standard of review is the amount of deference given by one court (or some other appellate tribunal) in reviewing a decision of a lower court or tribunal. A low standard of review means that the decision under review will be varied or o ...

, an appellate court determines the extent of the deference it will give to the lower court's decision, based on whether the appeal is one of fact or of law. In certain civil law jurisdictions, especially those following the French legal system, a first-level appellate court has the power to second-guess the trial court's finding of facts and retry the facts of the case at that level under the principle of ''double degré de juridiction''. In common law jurisdictions, an appellate court reviewing an issue of fact ordinarily gives deference to the trial court's findings. It is the duty of trial judges or

juries A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Most trial juries are " petit juries", an ...

to find facts, view the evidence firsthand, and observe witness testimony. When reviewing lower decisions on an issue of fact, courts of appeal generally look for clear error. However, the appellate court reviews issues of law (that is, without deference to the lower court's interpretation) and may reverse or modify the lower court's decision if the appellate court believes the lower court misapplied the facts or the law. If the appellate court finds a reversible error on an issue of fact, it cannot immediately retry and decide the issue itself. It can only reverse and remand with instructions to the trial court for a new trial or new findings on that issue. An appellate court may also review the lower judge's discretionary decisions, such as whether the judge properly granted a new trial or disallowed evidence. The lower court's decision is only changed in cases of an "

abuse of discretion Discretion has the meaning of acting on one's own authority and judgment. In law, discretion as to legal rulings, such as whether evidence is excluded at a trial, may be exercised by a judge. The ability to make decisions which represent a resp ...

". This standard tends to be even more deferential than the "clear error" standard. Before hearing any case, the court must have

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

to consider the appeal. The authority of appellate courts to review the decisions of lower courts varies widely from one jurisdiction to another. In some areas, the appellate court has limited powers of review. Generally, an appellate court's judgment provides the final directive of the appeals courts as to the matter appealed, setting out with specificity the court's determination that the action appealed from should be affirmed, reversed, remanded or modified. Depending on the type of case and the decision below, appellate review primarily consists of: an entirely new hearing (a non

trial de novo In law, the expression trial ''de novo'' means a "new trial" by a different tribunal (''de novo'' is a Latin expression meaning "afresh", "anew", "beginning again", hence the literal meaning "new trial"). A trial ''de novo'' is usually ordered by ...

); a hearing where the appellate court gives deference to factual findings of the lower court; or review of particular legal rulings made by the lower court (an appeal on the record).

Bifurcation of civil and criminal appeals

While many appellate courts have jurisdiction over all cases decided by lower courts, some systems have appellate courts divided by the type of jurisdiction they exercise. Some jurisdictions have specialized appellate courts, such as the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Article V ...

, which only hears appeals raised in criminal cases, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has general jurisdiction but derives most of its caseload from patent cases, on one hand, and appeals from the

Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. It was established by statute in 1982 as the United States Claims Court, ...

on the other. In the United States, Alabama, Tennessee, and Oklahoma also have separate courts of criminal appeals. Texas and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

have the final determination of criminal cases vested in their respective courts of criminal appeals, while Alabama and Tennessee allow decisions of its court of criminal appeals to be finally appealed to the state supreme court.

Courts of criminal appeals

;Civilian *

Court of Criminal Appeal (England and Wales) The Court of Criminal Appeal was an England, English appellate court for criminal law, criminal cases established by the (7 Edw. 7. c. 23). It superseded the Court for Crown Cases Reserved to which referral had been solely discretionary and ...

, abolished 1966 *

Court of Criminal Appeal (Ireland) The Court of Criminal Appeal () was an appellate court for criminal cases in the law of the Republic of Ireland. It existed from 1924 until 2014, when it was superseded by the Court of Appeal, which can hear appeals for all types of case. Op ...

, abolished 2014 * U.S. States: **

Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is one of two appellate courts in the Alabama judicial system. The court was established in 1969 when what had been one unitary state Court of Appeals was broken into a criminal appeals court and a civil app ...

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals The Court of Criminal Appeals is one of Tennessee's two intermediate appellate courts. It hears trial court appeals in felony and misdemeanor cases, as well as post-conviction petitions. Appeals in civil cases are heard by the Tennessee Cou ...

;Military *

United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel. Jurisdiction In the United States, courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform ...

Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) is the intermediate appellate court for criminal convictions in the United States Navy and the Marine Corps. Courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( Titl ...

(United States) *

Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals The Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals (CGCCA) is the intermediate appellate court for criminal convictions in the U.S. Coast Guard. It is located in Washington, DC. Congress established the Court under Article 66, Uniform Code of Military ...

(United States) *

Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) is an independent appellate judicial body authorized by Congress and established by the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force pursuant to the exclusive authority under (a). The Court hears and ...

(United States)

Courts of civil appeals

* Alabama Court of Civil Appeals *

Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is an intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma. Cases are assigned to it by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the state's highest court for Civil law (common law), civil matters.High Court has appellate jurisdiction over all other courts. Leave must be granted by the court, before the appeal matter is heard. The High Court is paramount to all federal courts. Further, it has an constitutionally entrenched general power of appeal from the Supreme Courts of the States and Territories.. Appeals to the High Court are by special leave only, which is generally only granted in cases of public importance, matters involving the interpretation of the Commonwealth Constitution, or where the law has been inconsistently applied across the States and Territories. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, the appellate divisions of the Supreme Courts of each State and Territory and the Federal Court are the final courts of appeal.

New Zealand

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand, located in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, is New Zealand's principal intermediate appellate court. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Philippines

The Court of Appeals of the Philippines is the principal intermediate appellate court of that country. The Court of Appeals is primarily found in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, with three divisions each in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

and

Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...

. Other appellate courts include the Sandiganbayan for cases involving graft and corruption, and the Court of Tax Appeals for cases involving tax. Appeals from all three appellate courts are to the

Sri Lanka

The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, located in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, is the second senior court in the Sri Lankan legal system.

United Kingdom

United States

In the United States, both state and federal appellate courts are usually restricted to examining whether the lower court made the correct legal determinations, rather than hearing direct evidence and determining what the facts of the case were. Furthermore, U.S. appellate courts are usually restricted to hearing appeals based on matters that were originally brought up before the trial court. Hence, such an appellate court will not consider an appellant's argument if it is based on a theory that is raised for the first time in the appeal. In most U.S. states, and in U.S. federal courts, parties before the court are allowed one appeal as of right. This means that a party who is unsatisfied with the outcome of a trial may bring an

to contest that outcome. However, appeals may be costly, and the appellate court must find an error on the part of the court below that justifies upsetting the verdict. Therefore, only a small proportion of trial court decisions result in appeals. Some courts, particularly supreme courts, have the power of

discretionary review Discretionary review is the authority appellate courts have to decide which appeals they will consider from among the cases submitted to them. This offers the judiciary a filter on what types of cases are appealed, because judges have to consider ...

, meaning that they can decide whether they will hear an appeal brought in a particular case.

Nomenclature

Many U.S. jurisdictions title their appellate court a ''court of appeal'' or ''court of appeals''. Both terms are used in the United States, but the plural form is more common in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

, while in contrast,

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

uses only the singular form. The correct form is whichever is the statutorily prescribed or customary form for a particular court and particular jurisdiction; in other words, one should never write "court of appeal" when the court at issue clearly prefers to be called a "court of appeals", and vice versa. Historically, certain jurisdictions have titled their appellate court a ''court of errors'' (or ''court of errors and appeals''), on the premise that it was intended to correct errors made by lower courts. Examples of such courts include the

New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals Prior to 1947, the structure of the judiciary in New Jersey was extremely complex, including Court of Errors and Appeals in the last resort in all causes. The Court of Errors and Appeals was the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey from ...

(which existed from 1844 to 1947), the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors (which has been renamed the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

), the Kentucky Court of Errors (renamed the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to its creation by constitutional amendment in 1975, the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of Ap ...

), and the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals (since renamed the

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

). In some jurisdictions, a court able to hear appeals is known as an appellate division. The phrase "court of appeals" most often refers to intermediate appellate courts. However, the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

is the highest appellate court in New York. The

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

is a trial court of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Maryland was known as the Court of Appeals, and the Appellate Court of Maryland was known as the Court of Special Appeals, until a 2022 constitutional amendment changed their names. Depending on the system, certain courts may serve as both trial courts and appellate courts, hearing appeals of decisions made by courts with more limited jurisdiction.

References

Citations

Sources

* Lax, Jeffrey R. "Constructing Legal Rules on Appellate Courts." American Political Science Review 101.3 (2007): 591–604. Sociological Abstracts; Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Web. 29 May 2012. *James D Hopkins, "The Role of an Intermediate Appellate Court" (1974 to 1975) 41 Brook L Rev 45
HeinOnline
*W Warren H Binford, Preston C Greene, Maria C Schmidlkofer, Robert M Wilsey and Hillary A Taylor, "Seeking Best Practices among Intermediate Courts of Appeal: A Nascent Journey" (2007) 9 The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process 37 (Article 4) (No 1, Spring 2007
Bowen Law Repository
*Calvert Magruder, "The Trials and Tribulations of an Intermediate Appellate Court" (1958) 44 Cornell Law Quarterly 1 (No 1, Fall 1958
Cornell
*Laurence C Harmon and Gregory A Lang, "A Needs Analysis of an Intermediate Appellate Court" (1981) 6 or 7 William Mitchell Law Review 51 (article 7) (No 1
Mitchell Hamline
*McHugh, "Law Making in an Intermediate Appellate Court: The New South Wales Court of Appeal" (1987) 11 The Sydney Law Review 183 (No 2, March 1987
AustLII
*Alan B Handler, "Justice at the Intermediate Appellate Level: The New Jersey Appellate Division" (1979) 10 Seton Hall Law Review 5
Seton Hall University
*Daryl R Fair, "State Intermediate Appellate Courts: An Introduction" (1971) 24 Political Research Quarterly 415 (No 3, September 1971
SAGE journals
*Richard B Hoffman and Barry Mahoney, "Managing caseflow in State Intermediate Appellate Courts: What Mechanisms, Practices, and Procedures can work to reduce Delay?" (2002) 35 Indiana Law Review 46
McKinney
*Kevin M Scott, "Understanding Judicial Hierarchy: Reversals and the Behavior of Intermediate Appellate Judges" (2006) 40 Law & Society Review 163 (No 1, March 2006
JSTOR
*John W Poulos and Bruce D Varner, "Review of Intermediate Appellate Court Decisions in California" (1963) 15 Hastings Law Journal 11 (No 1
UC Hastings
* Douglas M. Fasciale, "A Case Study Analyzing How Trial Judge Experience Shapes Intermediate Appellate Review of Discretionary Determinations," (2023) Seton Hall Law Review: Vol. 53 : Iss. 4 , Article 1. Available at
Seton Hall University
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