Court of Appeals Power

Most state court systems have created and employ a Court of Appeals as an intermediate or high appellate court. These courts are typically granted powers by the corresponding state’s constitution, and are charged with the responsibility to hear appeals from lower trial courts.

Court System Structure

Generally, there are three levels of courts within any state’s court system. First, the local jurisdiction courts will include both limited and general jurisdiction trial courts. These could include city or municipal courts, county courts and even circuit or superior courts.  Again, every state has structured and named these levels differently.

Most states have deemed a Court of Appeals as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals brought forth by the local jurisdiction cases after final judgment. These appellate courts usually do not exercise original jurisdiction over any type of case.

Some states may deem this court as the high appellate, or Court of Last Resort. This type of court hears appeals from all levels, and is the highest level of court in existence.  For those states which have a supreme court as the high appellate, this court will hear any appeals from the Court of Appeals.

Duty of Appellate Courts

Appellate courts, when they exercise their appellate jurisdiction over decisions of lower trial courts, do not hear new arguments, theories or evidence in a case. They merely determine the validity of the lower court’s application of the appropriate laws and final decision or judgment. The judges in these courts must only review the exhibits and arguments presented at the original trial.

Appellate Opinions

Many states have determined that an appellate court’s decision in a case, especially if it overturns a prior judgment or presents a new interpretation of the law, may be used as precedent in future arguments and decisions. Some states may even deem that a high or intermediate appellate court’s ruling should be followed by all lower trial courts in future similar cases. If these judgments present a new viewpoint or opinion, attorneys may also refer to them when arguing a case in the future.

Errors by Trial Courts

When reviewing a case before them, judges in the Court of Appeals will look for errors that occurred which may have altered the final verdict or judgment. These errors may include a fundamental error, harmful error, harmless error, invited error or reversible error. 

A fundamental error is one which is deemed “in the interest of justice” because it deals with the true issue at hand; in some cases, the court may determine that even the appeal has failed to raise the core issue. Harmful errors are determined to have an effect on the outcome of the trial. Harmless errors are concluded to have no effect on the final outcome of the original trial, and an invited error is one in which the appellant asked the trial court to make an erroneous ruling; this appellant cannot later ask for an appeal based on that decision. Finally, reversible errors are those which allow the appellate court to overturn the trial court’s decision.

State-Specific Court of Appeals Information:

Arizona Court of Appeals

California Court of Appeals

Florida Court of Appeals

Michigan Court of Appeals

Mississippi Court of Appeals

New York Appeals Court

Oklahoma Court of Appeals

Pennsylvania Court of Appeals

Texas Court of Appeals

Virginia Court of Appeals

Washington Court of Appeals

Wisconsin Court of Appeals