Legal Definitions - appeal as of right

An appeal as of right refers to a situation where a party in a legal case has an automatic entitlement to have a higher court review a decision made by a lower court. This means the higher court must hear the appeal and cannot refuse to consider it, provided the appeal meets certain procedural requirements. This right is typically established by statute or constitutional provision, guaranteeing access to a higher level of judicial review in specific circumstances.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Criminal Conviction: Imagine a person is convicted of a serious felony in a state trial court. In many jurisdictions, the convicted individual has an appeal as of right to an intermediate appellate court to review the trial court's proceedings for legal errors. The appellate court cannot simply decline to hear the case; it is obligated to review the conviction and sentence if the proper procedures for filing the appeal are followed.

  How it illustrates the term: The defendant doesn't need to ask for permission or convince the appellate court to take their case; the right to a first appeal after a felony conviction is automatically granted by law.

• Death Penalty Cases: In states where the death penalty is legal, a sentence of death often triggers an automatic appeal as of right directly to the state's highest court. This ensures the most rigorous review of such a final and irreversible punishment. The state's supreme court must examine the case for any legal or constitutional errors, regardless of whether the defendant specifically requests it.

  How it illustrates the term: The gravity of the death penalty mandates an automatic review by the highest court, meaning the appeal is not discretionary for the court but a guaranteed right for the defendant (and often an obligation for the court).

• Constitutional Challenges to Statutes: Consider a scenario where a lower court rules that a specific state law is unconstitutional. Some state judicial systems provide an appeal as of right directly to the state's supreme court when a lower court declares a state statute unconstitutional. This allows the highest court to definitively rule on the validity of state laws, ensuring consistency and finality on such important legal questions.

  How it illustrates the term: The significant impact of declaring a law unconstitutional means the state's highest court is legally bound to review that decision, rather than having the option to decline the appeal.