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Back to Subjects - Political Science

Appellate process

Appellate process The two basic types of courts in the United States are trial courts and appellate courts. These two types of courts have two entirely different functions. The job of a trial courts is to determine questions of fact. Appeals courts, on the other hand, must determine questions of law. Appellate courts have the right to overrule jury verdicts and judges decisions due to the fact that an appellate court typically concerns itself solely with issues of law. An appeal is not the time to retry the case or to reargue the facts. In civil matters, either party can appeal the decision of the trial court. Usually in criminal matters, however, only the defendant may appeal a criminal conviction and the state is not allowed to appeal a not guilty verdict. The sentencing in criminal cases with a guilty verdict, however, may be appealed by either the defendant or by the prosecution (uscourts.gov, 23). Proceedings in appellate courts are very different from those in trial courts. Trial courts are courts in which witnesses are heard, exhibits are offered into evidence, and a verdict (in a jury trial) or a decision (when a case tried by a judge alone) is reached based on the facts presented in the case. A trial court has only one judge, appellate courts, with the exception of state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, have three. Most legal disputes involving state law are initially decided in the trial courts or by an administrative agency. But after such a decision, an individual may usually turn to the state’s appeal courts if he or she believes a legal error occurred that harmed the case (uscourts.gov, 23). Thousands of cases are appealed every year. They include criminal convictions as well as civil cases involving personal injury, contracts, employment, real estate, probate, divorce, child custody and many other issues (uscourts.gov, 10). Whenever an appellate court reverses a trial court decision, it instructs that court to rehear the case using the correct law and procedures. If the court sees that a “gross miscarriage of justice” is being done or that an error was obviously committed, they will usually overturn the trial court’s decision (Coffin, 85). In the vast majority of cases, the decision of a Court of Appeal is final. The state Supreme Court does not review the vast majority of cases – it steps in to resolve new or disputed questions of law. It is also the highest state appellate court for civil matters (supreme.courts.state .tx.us/AboutCourt.htm). It is not allowed to hear criminal cases. These cases are the responsibility of the Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest state jurisdiction for criminal appeals. All cases in which the death penalty has been sentenced, the case is automatically sent to the Court of Criminal Appeals (cca.courts.state.tx.us/). Also, the Court may choose on its own to hear a case. It consists of nine members, a Presiding Judge and eight associate Justices. The judges who serve on appeals courts are collectively known as appellate justices. The Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is Thomas Phillips (supreme.courts.state.tx.us/justices.htm). The court is comprised of five white males, three white females, and one African-American male (http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/AboutCourt.htm). In addition to the nine justices on the Supreme Court, there and eighty justices allowed to sit on the Courts of Appeal. Along with cases coming from trial courts, the Supreme Court has the authority to rule on certain which no other court in Texas has the jurisdiction to do so. The Texas Supreme Court also has the responsibility of maintaining the efficient operation of the court system. The Court also makes the rules which govern trials heard in civil and juvenile Texas courts. The Courts of Appeal are divided into 14 geographical districts and hear cases arising within each district. In Texas courts, trial courts are municipal courts (a.k.a. traffic courts), justice of the peace courts, constitutional county courts, statutory county courts, and district courts(http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/AboutCourt.htm). In order for a case to be heard in federal court, several conditions must be met. First, the court must be authorized to hear the case. The court can exercise only ‘judicial powers.’ This means that they can only rule on the case before them and not on any hypothetical situations. The plaintiff must have ‘standing.’ This refers to the fact that the plaintiff must have received some type of injury from the plaintiff and that the court must be able to in some way grant the plaintiff some relief, if it decides in the plaintiff’s favor. The case also can not be moot, meaning that the problem that the case involves must be ongoing. Lastly, the case must pose a ‘federal question’, that is, that the defendant must either be charged with a federal crime or potential damages must be at least $75,000. All cases involving lesser crimes or damages must be sent through the state courts. The two main types of cases before federal courts are those involving either ‘federal questions’ or ‘diversity of jurisdiction.’ (uscourts.gov, 7) Appellate courts do not decide an appeal by taking new evidence or reassessing the credibility of the witnesses who testified in the trial court. Appeals courts review the written record to determine if the trial court properly interpreted the law and used the correct procedures when considering the case. If new evidence is found, the appeals court takes it under advisement and decides whether or not a new trial is necessary by the trial court. The knowledge that a fact can be overturned by an appeals court leads trial judges to act very carefully, as having one of their decisions overturned is very humiliating for a judge. The parties involved in the case submit written documents, called briefs, to assert their position. The parties also participate in oral arguments before the appeal court justices (Coffin, 130-1). To ensure that the cases are examined from several perspectives and receive a thorough analysis, each Court of Appeal case is decided by three appellate court justices. All nine justices decide Supreme Court cases. In both cases, a majority of justices must agree on a decision. They are bound by the federal and state Constitutions, statutes and other rules and regulations dictated by the state legislature, voter initiatives and other authorities. Judges must interpret and enforce the law without being swayed by public opinion. The Code of Judicial Ethics requires all judges to be faithful to the law regardless of partisan interests, societal pressure or fear of criticism. Judges are not allowed to hear cases in which they are personally involved, a personal bias against a party in the case, or cases in which they were involved in as a lawyer (uscourts.gov, 12). Generally, the decision must be issued within 90 day after it has been submitted for decision. The federal and state court systems are completely separate and distinct from one another. However, some decisions of state appellate and supreme courts are subject to review by the federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has the power to review any case arising in state court if and it usually involves a federal issue. In order for a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, a writ of certiorari must be filed. This document asks the court to review the case. Although they hear only a very small percentage of the cases that are filed with them, this is still a necessary step in the process (uscourts.gov, 6). In a limited number of other cases, a single federal trial judge may reject a decision of a state appellate or Supreme Court or an initiative approved by state voters. There are 94 federal district (trial) courts; at least one for each state plus one District of Columbia and another for Puerto Rico, 12 Circuit Courts of Appeal and one U.S. Supreme Court. Texas is in the 5th Circuit, along with Louisiana and Mississippi. Each district also has a bankruptcy court included in its jurisdiction. The Texas appellate system contains 14 districts. (courts.state.tx.us/appcourt.asp) All federal judges and justices are nominated by the President and are confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Once confirmed, federal judges and justices sit for life. They may only be removed from office by impeachment. Although theses justices are not required to have any special qualifications, they are usually very experienced private attorneys, prosecutors, state court judges, or professors of law. The salaries and benefits received by federal judges are set by Congress, and the salary of a federal judge is somewhat close to that of a Member of Congress (uscourts.gov, 12). Voters in their districts elect the Court of Appeal justices, who serve in districts that cover certain parts of the state. The term of office is 12 years, or less if a justice is replacing one who retired. In that case, the justice must run for confirmation in the next general election. At the end of that term, the voters at a general election must again confirm the justices, in order to begin a new term (courts.state.tx.us/txcrtoverview.asp). Federal court judge may retire at the age of 65, but many stay on in a part-time manner. These justices are known as ‘senior judges’ and account for approximately 15 to 20 percent of the workload of the courts (uscourts.gov, 13). Supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention. The only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group. Generally speaking, the federal courts may hear cases involving the U.S. government, the Constitution or federal laws, or controversies between the states and the federal government. A case before a federal court may also involve ‘diversity of citizenship.’ That is, that the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states. In order to ensure fairness for the out-of-state party, the Constitution allows for the case to be heard in federal court. Federal courts have jurisdiction in all bankruptcy cases as well (uscourts.gov, 8). In an appeal, the “appellant” must persuade the court to “reverse” the trial court's judgment because of some significant legal errors that occurred during the trial which could have skewed the result, such as evidence improperly admitted or excluded, or the judge instructing the jury to apply an incorrect interpretation of the law. The “appellee,” on the other hand, will seek to persuade the court that no such errors were made in the lower court or that, if there was an error, it was harmless because it did not affect the outcome. A transcript of the district court proceedings, together with all of the original papers and exhibits, will be forwarded to the court for consideration in deciding the appeal (uscourts.gov, 23). Bibliography: Works Cited 1) http://www.courts.state.tx.us/ 2) http://www.uscourts.gov/ 3) http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/ 4) http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/AboutCourt.htm 5) On Appeal. Coffin, Frank. W.W. Norton and Company: New York, 1994.

Word Count: 1843

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