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ImportMaster at 14:02, 12 May 2022

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{{short description|Court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal}}
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{{redirect-multi|2|Court of appeal|Court of appeals}}
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[[File:High Court of Australia (6769096715).jpg|thumb|right|400px|The [[High Court of Australia]], the highest appellate court in Australia]]
[[File:Helsingin hovioikeus.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The [[Helsinki Court of Appeal]] (''Helsingin hovioikeus''), an intermediate appellate court in Finland]]
An '''appellate court''', commonly called a '''court of appeal(s)''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/court%20of%20appeals |title=Court of appeals |publisher=Education.yahoo.com |access-date=2012-01-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133821/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/court%20of%20appeals |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}</ref> '''appeal court''', '''court of second instance''' or '''second instance court''', is any [[court of law]] that is empowered to hear an [[appeal]] of a [[trial court]] or other lower [[tribunal]]. In much of the world, court systems are divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts of the case; at least one intermediate appellate court; and a [[supreme court]] (or court of last resort) which primarily reviews the decisions of the intermediate courts, often on a [[Discretionary review|discretionary basis]]. A particular court system's supreme court is its highest appellate court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/supreme-court |title=Supreme Court |publisher=Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 26, 2012 from CollinsDictionary.com}}</ref> Appellate courts nationwide can operate under varying rules.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Guide to Illinois Civil Appellate Procedure |url=http://applawyers.org/Civil_Appeals_Guide_Revised.pdf |website=Appellate Lawyers Association |access-date=7 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709111738/http://applawyers.org/Civil_Appeals_Guide_Revised.pdf |archive-date=July 9, 2015 }}</ref>

Under its standard of review, an appellate court decides the extent of the deference it would give to the lower court's decision, based on whether the appeal were one of fact or of law. In reviewing an issue of fact, an appellate court ordinarily gives deference to the trial court's findings. It is the duty of trial judges or [[jury|juries]] 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'''''. The appellate court reviews issues of law '''''de novo''''' (anew, no deference) and may reverse or modify the lower court's decision if the appellate court believes the lower court misapplied the facts or the law. 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". This standard tends to be even more deferential than the "clear error" standard.

Before hearing any case, the Court must have [[jurisdiction]] 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.<ref>State v. Randolph, 210 N.J. 330, 350 n.5 (2012), citing Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Practice (Gann Law Books 2012), chapter 28:2</ref> Depending on the type of case and the decision below, appellate review primarily consists of: an entirely new hearing (a non ''[[trial de novo]]''); 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]], which only hears appeals raised in criminal cases, and the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit|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]] on the other. In the United States, Alabama, Tennessee, and Oklahoma also have separate courts of criminal appeals. Texas and Oklahoma have the final determination of criminal cases vested in their respective courts of criminal appeals,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/judges_journal/2014/fall/bifurcated_appellate_review_the_texas_story_of_two_high_courts/|title=Bifurcated Appellate Review: The Texas Story of Two High Courts|website=www.americanbar.org}}</ref> while Alabama and Tennessee allow decisions of its court of criminal appeals to be finally appealed to the state supreme court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judicial.alabama.gov/Appellate/CriminalAppeals|title=Alabama Judicial System|website=judicial.alabama.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/court-criminal-appeals/about|title=About the Court of Criminal Appeals - Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts|website=www.tncourts.gov}}</ref>

===Courts of criminal appeals===

;Civilian
*[[Court of Criminal Appeal (England and Wales)]], abolished 1966
*[[Court of Criminal Appeal (Ireland)]], abolished 2014
* U.S. States:
**[[Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals]]
**[[Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals]]
**[[Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals]]
**[[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]]

;Military
*[[United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals]]
*[[Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals]] (United States)
*[[Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals]] (United States)
*[[Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals]] (United States)

===Courts of civil appeals===
*[[Alabama Court of Civil Appeals]]
*[[Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals]]

==Appellate courts by country==
===New Zealand===
{{main|Court of Appeal of New Zealand}}

The [[Court of Appeal of New Zealand]], located in [[Wellington]], is New Zealand's principal intermediate appellate court.<ref>{{cite web|title=Court of Appeal|url=http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/court-of-appeal|website=justice.govt.nz|access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref> In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the [[Supreme Court of New Zealand|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of court system — Courts of New Zealand|url=https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/about-the-judiciary/copy_of_overview|website=www.courtsofnz.govt.nz|publisher=Courts of New Zealand|access-date=4 May 2018|language=en-nz}}</ref>

=== Philippines ===
{{main|Court of Appeals of the 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]], with three divisions each in [[Cebu City]] and [[Cagayan de Oro]]. 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 [[Supreme Court of the Philippines|Supreme Court]].

===Sri Lanka===
{{main|Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka}}

The [[Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka]], located in [[Colombo]], is the second senior court in the [[Courts of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan legal system]].

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Court of Appeal (England and Wales)}}

===United States===
{{main|United States Supreme Court|United States courts of appeals}}
In the United States, both state and [[United States courts of appeals|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Court Role and Structure|url=http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure|website=United States Courts|access-date=7 July 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/appeals.html|title=How Courts Work {{!}} Public Education|website=www.americanbar.org|access-date=2016-06-23}}</ref>

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 [[appeal]] 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 appellate courts, particularly supreme courts, have the power of [[discretionary review]], meaning that they can decide whether they will hear an appeal brought in a particular case.

==== Institutional titles ====
Many U.S. jurisdictions title their appellate court a '''''court of appeal''''' or '''''court of appeals'''''. Historically, others 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]] (which existed from 1844 to 1947), the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors (which has been renamed the [[Connecticut Supreme Court]]), the Kentucky Court of Errors (renamed the [[Kentucky Supreme Court]]), and the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals (since renamed the [[Supreme Court of Mississippi]]). 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 Maryland and New York systems are different. The [[Maryland Court of Appeals]] and the [[New York Court of Appeals]] are the highest appellate courts in those states. The [[New York Supreme Court]] is a trial court of general jurisdiction. 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.

==See also==
*[[Court of Criminal Appeal (disambiguation)]]
*[[Court of Appeal (Hong Kong)]]
*[[High Court (Hong Kong)]]
*[[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)]]
*[[Court of cassation]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* 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.
{{refend}}

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[[Category:Courts by type]]
[[Category:Appellate courts]]
[[Category:Jurisdiction]]

Appellate court - Revision history

Developer.mubin: revise

ImportMaster at 14:02, 12 May 2022