In United States appellate procedure, an appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law.

The right to file an appeal can also vary from state to state ; for example, the New Jersey Constitution vests judicial power in a Supreme Court, a Superior Court, and other courts of limited jurisdiction, with an appellate court being part of the Superior Court.

An appellate court is a court that hears cases on appeal from another court.

Depending on the particular legal rules that apply to each circumstance, a party to a court case who is unhappy with the result might be able to challenge that result in an appellate court on specific grounds.

The appellate court cannot refuse to listen to the appeal.

An appeal " by leave " or " permission " requires the appellant to obtain leave to appeal ; in such a situation either or both of the lower court and the appellate court may have the discretion to grant or refuse the appellant's demand to appeal the lower court's decision.

Likewise, in some jurisdictions, the state or prosecution may appeal an issue of law " by leave " from the trial court and / or the appellate court.

For example, a criminal defendant may be convicted in state court, and lose on " direct appeal " to higher state appellate courts, and if unsuccessful, mount a " collateral " action such as filing for a writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts.

In Anglo-American common law courts, appellate review of lower court decisions may also be obtained by filing a petition for review by prerogative writ in certain cases.

That is, it goes to the intermediate appellate court, followed by the highest court.

For example, the appellant might have to file the notice of appeal with the appellate court, or with the court from which the appeal is taken, or both.

Generally speaking the appellate court examines the record of evidence presented in the trial court and the law that the lower court applied and decides whether that decision was legally sound or not.

The appellate court will typically be deferential to the lower court's findings of fact ( such as whether a defendant committed a particular act ), unless clearly erroneous, and so will focus on the court's application of the law to those facts ( such as whether the act found by the court to have occurred fits a legal definition at issue ).

If the appellate court finds no defect, it " affirms " the judgment.

If the appellate court does find a legal defect in the decision " below " ( i. e., in the lower court ), it may " modify " the ruling to correct the defect, or it may nullify (" reverse " or " vacate ") the whole decision or any part of it.

In some cases, an appellate court may review a lower court decision " de novo " ( or completely ), challenging even the lower court's findings of fact.

In some systems, an appellate court will only consider the written decision of the lower court, together with any written evidence that was before that court and is relevant to the appeal.

Under this standard, the appellate court gives deference to the lower court's view of the evidence, and reverses its decision only if it were a clear abuse of discretion.

On the other hand, the appellate court normally gives less deference to a lower court's decision on issues of law, and may reverse if it finds that the lower court applied the wrong legal standard.

* the standard of review and degree of deference given by an appellate tribunal to the decision of the lower tribunal under review ( issues of law are reviewed de novo, that is, " as if new " from scratch by the appellate tribunal, while most issues of equity are reviewed for " abuse of discretion ," that is, with great deference to the tribunal below ).

If there is no decision on point from the highest court of a state, the federal courts must attempt to predict how the state courts would resolve the issue, by looking at decisions from state appellate courts at all levels.

Usually, an intermediate appellate court, if there is one in that state, often called the state court of appeals, will review the decision of the trial court.

The U. S. Supreme Court can ( but are not required to ) review final decision of state courts, after a party exhausts all remedies up to a request for relief from the state's highest appellate court, if the justices believe that the case involves an important question of constitutional law or federal law.

In a 2 – 1 decision, the appellate court ruled that the words were of a " ceremonial and patriotic nature " and did not constitute an establishment of religion.

The appellate court upheld the lower court decision, finding no basis that siting the college at this location would constitute a public nuisance.

* Harrisville is home to the legal offices of Pamela Burt, an attorney who in 2005 succeeded in getting the Michigan Supreme Court to throw out an appellate court's decision that had equated wayward beach walking to trespassing, while leaving intact the principle that owners of property abutting the Great Lakes own to the current water edge.

These proposals followed the WTO appellate body largely upholding on 28 April 2005 the initial decision against the EU sugar regime.

Thus, because it was established that the States had the power to rule on Federal issues it must be true that the Supreme Court can review the decision or the Supreme Court would not have appellate jurisdiction in " all other cases.

Both the prosecutor and the person in custody may challenge any decision on custody ( including bail ) by filing a complaint which leads to review by an appellate court.

Salaam's supporters and attorneys charged on appeal that he had been held by police without access to parents or guardians, but as the majority appellate court decision noted, that was because Salaam had initially lied to police in claiming to be 16, and had backed up his claim with a transit pass that indeed ( falsely, as it turned out ) said that he was 16.

The decision of the Bench or Divisional Court is not binding, and the appellate court has full discretion to decide the case, but the Court's ruling has persuasive authority.

It may, again, uphold an earlier decision or reverse it and remand the case to another appellate court.

The Henderson case RPC 218 was a decision of the High Court of New South Wales ( both the first instance and appellate jurisdiction ).

The appellate court ’ s decision was binding, but it also created an aura of ambivalence, with topless sunbathing in public declared acceptable only if nobody else including families with children formally objects to it.

He believed that the court that heard the case and pronounced judgment was generally able to make a decision that was superior to appellate courts ' decisions.

In different jurisdictions, appellate courts are also called appeals courts, courts of appeals, superior courts, or supreme courts.

It is also necessary to distinguish between original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.

An appellate court may also propound an entirely new and different analysis from that of junior courts, and may or may not be bound by its own previous decisions, or in any case may distinguish them on the facts.

Section 2 delineates federal judicial power, and brings that power into execution by conferring original jurisdiction and also appellate jurisdiction upon the Supreme Court.

In Texas, a state appellate court has upheld the testing of sex offenders under community supervision and has also upheld written statements given by sex offenders if they have committed a further offense with new victims.

Cox also continued his career as an expert appellate advocate.

Virginia also argued that the Constitution does not give the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over cases in which a state is a party.

More recent British Acts had further emphasised the complete dependence of the Irish parliament, and the appellate jurisdiction of the Irish House of Lords had also been annulled.

Prohibition is also generally limited to appellate courts, who use it to prevent lower courts from exceeding their jurisdiction.

In 1660 the Convention Parliament claimed for itself the right of appellate jurisdiction over equity matters, and also the right of original jurisdiction to hear equity cases at first instance.

The higher trial court may also have some power of appellate review over the lower.

The California Highway Patrol also serves as bailiffs and courtroom deputies for certain state courts, such as the appellate courts and the California Supreme Court building in San Francisco.

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the following territorial courts:

In June 2006, in Tracy Buel v. Chowder House ( dba The Hungry I ) an appellate court of California's first district ruled that dancer Tracy Buel, also known as Daisy Anarchy, was correctly classified as an independent contractor, and that " Buel shall pay defendants ’ costs on appeal ".

However, while the Council of State has supreme appellate jurisdiction for administrative appeals, it also has original jurisdiction on a number of matters brought against national governmental authorities including cases against statutory instruments ( executive and ministerial orders ) and certain types of administrative decisions.

In some states, the latter type of trial courts often also have appellate jurisdiction from the more specialized courts, and are therefore called superior courts to distinguish them from inferior courts.

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.

They functioned as appellate courts and also had jurisdiction over trials in serious criminal cases where imprisonment exceeding five years may be imposed.

The Supreme Court of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Supreme Court of the Slovak Socialist Republic serve as appellate courts for their respective regional courts and also heard petitions for breach of law against decisions by the lower courts.

The Queen's Bench Division in England and Wales today consists of the Lord Chief Justice and fourteen puisne judges, exercising original jurisdiction and also appellate jurisdiction from the county courts and other inferior courts, in practice being exercised by a division of the Queen's Bench only.

Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also advance the argument of each party in the legal dispute.

It is also true that when a motion is made before or during trial that the lawyers conduct themselves before the judge in a manner similar to the presentation of the case on appeal, the lawyers present their arguments to the judge in a more conversational mode ; in some pre-trial proceedings these appearances may not be recorded by court stenographers as they are invariably recorded in appellate proceedings.