For example, in a criminal case a higher court may conclude that the trial judge gave a legally improper instruction to the jury, but if the mistake were minor and in the opinion of the appellate court had no bearing on the jury's finding, the appellate court may hold it a harmless error and let a guilty verdict stand. Some are harmless errors that did not prejudice the rights of the parties to a fair trial. Not every error of law, however, is cause for a reversal. It generally will reverse a trial court only for an error of law. The appellate court determines whether errors occurred in applying the law at the lower court level. In the federal courts of appeals, the attorneys are often allotted less time than that - 10- or 15-minute arguments are common. Supreme Court, for example, an hour is set for oral argument of most cases, which gives each side's lawyers about half an hour to make their oral argument and answer questions.
At oral argument, each side's attorney is given a relatively brief opportunity to argue the case to the court, and to answer questions posed by the judges. Often the court will ask that the case be set for oral argument, or one of the parties will request oral argument. Sometimes, they hear oral arguments before deciding a case. Sometimes, appeals courts make their decision only on the basis of the written briefs. The appellant may then file a second brief answering the appellee's brief.
The appellee then has a specified time to file an answering brief. This filing marks the beginning of the time period within which the appellant must file a brief, a written argument containing that side's view of the facts and the legal arguments upon which they rely in seeking a reversal of the trial court. The appeal is instituted with the filing of a notice of appeal.
The other party is the appellee or the respondent. The party appealing is called the appellant, or sometimes the petitioner. Appeals in either civil or criminal cases are usually based on arguments that there were errors in the trial s procedure or errors in the judge's interpretation of the law. The appeals courts do not usually consider new witnesses or new evidence. The right of a federal review imposes the check of the federal courts on abuses that may occur in the state courts.Īn appeal is not a retrial or a new trial of the case. After using all of their rights of appeal on the state level, they may file a writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts in an attempt to show that their federal constitutional rights were violated. Constitution against double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime.)Ĭriminal defendants convicted in state courts have a further safeguard. Appeals by the prosecution after a verdict are not normally allowed because of the prohibition in the U. These appeals usually occur before the actual trial begins. (Some states give the prosecution a limited right to appeal to determine certain points of law. In a criminal case, only the defendant has a right to an appeal in most states. In a civil case, either party may appeal to a higher court. There usually must be a legal basis for the appeal an alleged material error in the trial not just the fact that the losing party didn t like the verdict. Not often does a losing party have an automatic right of appeal. A popular misconception is that cases are always appealed.
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