Legal Definitions - court of appeals

A court of appeals is a higher court within the judicial system that reviews decisions made by lower courts, such as trial courts, or sometimes even specialized administrative tribunals acting in an appellate capacity. Its primary function is not to conduct a new trial or re-examine the facts of a case, but rather to scrutinize the record of the lower court proceedings to determine if any significant legal errors were made that might have affected the outcome. These errors could involve incorrect interpretations of law, improper admission or exclusion of evidence, or procedural mistakes.

Here are some examples:

• Imagine a scenario where a small business owner is sued for breach of contract. After a lengthy trial, the jury finds in favor of the plaintiff, and the trial court judge enters a judgment for a substantial amount of money. The business owner's attorney believes that the trial judge incorrectly instructed the jury on a crucial point of contract law, leading to an unfair verdict. The business owner would then file an appeal with the court of appeals, asking it to review the trial court's legal instructions to the jury and potentially overturn the judgment.

  This illustrates the term because the court of appeals is reviewing a legal decision (the jury instructions) made by a lower court (the trial court) to check for errors.

• Consider a criminal case where a defendant is convicted of a felony. During the trial, the defense attorney argued that certain evidence presented by the prosecution was obtained through an illegal search and should have been excluded. The trial judge disagreed and allowed the evidence. After conviction, the defendant's legal team believes this was a violation of their constitutional rights. They would appeal the conviction to the court of appeals, which would then evaluate whether the trial judge's decision to admit the evidence was legally sound.

  This example demonstrates the court of appeals' role in reviewing a trial court's ruling (on evidence admissibility) to ensure legal and constitutional principles were followed.

• Suppose a state environmental agency denies a permit for a new construction project, citing specific regulations. The developer appeals this decision to an administrative review board, which upholds the agency's denial. Still believing the agency and the review board misinterpreted the environmental laws, the developer can then appeal the administrative board's decision to a state court of appeals. The court would then review whether the agency and the board correctly applied the relevant environmental statutes and regulations.

  Here, the court of appeals is acting as a higher court reviewing a decision that has already gone through a lower level of appeal (the administrative review board), checking for legal misinterpretations.