If the court rules against you and the decision feels wrong, it’s possible that you could have grounds for a legal appeal. However, there’s a lot that goes into determining whether or not it’s a realistic option. Understanding how the appeals process works and what goes into determining when an appeal is a valid option will help you make educated decisions on what to do next.
What an Appeal Actually Is
Many people misunderstand what an appeal involves, expecting it to be a second trial where they can present new evidence and retry their case. However, that’s not how appeals work.
An appeal is a request to a higher court to review the lower court’s proceedings and determine whether legal errors were made that materially affected the outcome. The appellate court doesn’t hear witnesses, review new evidence, or reconsider factual determinations made by juries. Instead, it examines the written record of your trial, alongside legal briefs submitted by both parties, arguing whether the law was properly applied.
Appellate courts are reviewing legal questions, not matters of facts and evidence. The question isn’t whether the jury reached the right conclusion based on the evidence – appellate courts generally defer to jury findings on factual matters. The question is whether the trial was conducted fairly and in accordance with the law. For example:
- Did the judge correctly instruct the jury?
- Was evidence properly admitted or excluded?
- Did your attorney provide constitutionally adequate assistance?
- Were your constitutional rights respected throughout the proceedings?
Grounds for Appeal
Identifying valid grounds for appeal requires careful review of the entire trial record by someone who understands appellate law and what kinds of errors courts take seriously.
Errors are the most common grounds for appeal. If the trial judge misapplied a statute or gave incorrect jury instructions, these mistakes might warrant reversal or a new trial. However, not every legal error justifies overturning a verdict. Minor errors that didn’t affect the outcome are considered “harmless errors” that don’t require correction. Significant errors that likely influenced the jury’s decision are “reversible errors” that can result in remand for new proceedings.
Constitutional violations represent some of the strongest grounds for appeal, particularly in criminal cases. Violations of your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure, Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination, or Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial and effective counsel are all serious grounds that appellate courts scrutinize carefully.
Ineffective assistance of counsel claims come into play when your trial attorney makes errors so serious that they deprived you of the competent representation the Constitution guarantees. Demonstrating this requires showing both that counsel’s performance fell below acceptable standards and that this deficient performance likely affected the outcome of your case. (This is a high bar.)
The Appellate Process from Start to Finish
The appeal process follows distinct stages, each with specific requirements and deadlines that must be met precisely for your appeal to proceed.
- Filing a notice of appeal is typically the first formal step and must happen within a very short window after the final judgment – often 30 days in civil cases and sometimes even less in criminal matters. Missing this deadline generally forfeits your right to appeal entirely, with very limited exceptions.
- Obtaining the record comes next. The appellate court reviews the complete record from the lower court proceedings, including transcripts of all hearings and the trial, all documents filed in the case, and all evidence that was admitted or offered.
- Briefing is where the bulk of the work of an appeal happens. Your attorney files a written brief arguing why the lower court’s ruling should be reversed or modified, citing specific legal errors with references to the record and supporting case law. The opposing party files a response brief defending the lower court’s decision, and you typically have an opportunity to file a reply brief responding to their arguments.
- Oral argument isn’t guaranteed in every appeal, but sometimes occurs in significant cases. If granted, each side has a limited time to present its arguments to a panel of judges who will ask pointed questions.
- The appellate court’s decision comes after all briefing and any oral arguments are complete. The court can affirm the lower court’s ruling, reverse it, remand the case back to the lower court for new proceedings consistent with the appellate ruling, or some combination of these outcomes.
All in all, these decisions can take months to rule on. They are not quick or as straightforward as most people would like. But the option does exist, should it be necessary.
Why Having the Right Lawyer Matters
Successfully navigating the appellate process without an experienced appeals attorney is nearly impossible for most people and reduces your chances of success to almost zero. Appellate law is a distinct specialty requiring different skills from trial work, and not every excellent trial attorney makes an equally excellent appellate lawyer.
Finding an attorney who specifically understands and specializes in appeals in your state is crucial. These specialists understand which arguments resonate with the specific court that will hear your appeal, how that court has historically approached similar legal questions, and the precise procedural requirements needed.
Moving Forward
Losing a court case feels devastating, and the impulse to challenge the result is natural and sometimes legally justified. But make sure you’re proceeding with intentionality and caution.
Whether appealing makes sense in your situation depends on whether or not actual legal errors occurred and how significant those errors were. A qualified attorney can help you decide whether or not to move forward with an appeal.
