Journalist's Guide

District
Appellate
  Key Players
  Process
  Information Sources

Bankruptcy
Glossary

Contents

The losing party in a decision by a federal trial court usually has the right to appeal the final decision to a federal court of appeals. Similarly, a litigant not satisfied with a decision made by a federal administrative agency usually may seek review by a court of appeals. Parties who contest decisions made in certain federal agencies – for example, disputes over Social Security benefits – may be required to seek review first in a district court rather than go directly to an appeals court.

In a civil case, either side may appeal the judgment based on a jury verdict or bench trial. In a criminal case, the defendant may appeal a conviction based on a guilty verdict, but the government may not appeal if a defendant is found not guilty. Either side in a criminal case may appeal a sentence that is imposed after a guilty verdict if it departs from the sentencing guidelines.

If the dissatisfied party in the district court plans an appeal, the first step usually is to file a notice of appeal in the district court, which informs the court of appeals and other parties.

A litigant who files an appeal from a district court decision is known as an appellant. The term "petitioner" is used for a litigant who files an appeal from an administrative agency or who appeals an original proceeding. The appellant (petitioner) bears the burden of showing that the trial court or administrative agency made a legal error that affected the decision in the case. The court of appeals makes its decision based on the record of the case established by the trial court or agency. The court of appeals does not receive additional evidence or hear witnesses. The court of appeals also may review the factual findings made by the trial court or agency, but typically may overturn a decision on factual grounds only if the findings were "clearly erroneous."

Three-Judge Panels

Appeals normally are decided by panels of three judges working together. A panel may include a senior circuit or district judge, a district judge from a district court within the particular circuit, or a visiting circuit or district judge from another circuit. In general, judges are assigned to panels randomly. The judges may play no role in determining who will sit on which panel or in the assignment of cases to a particular panel. Indeed, the creation of the panels and the assignment of cases to individual panels are separate functions often performed by different court units.

Additionally, judges do not participate in cases in which their participation would constitute a conflict of interest or create an appearance of impropriety. In such circumstances, the judge should recuse himself or herself from the case.

The appellant presents legal arguments to the panel in a written brief, seeking to persuade the judges that the trial court committed substantial error, and that the trial court's decision should therefore be reversed. The party who prevailed in the trial court, known as the appellee (or respondent for administrative agency appeals), argues in a reply brief that the trial court was correct, or that any error made was not significant enough to affect the outcome of the case.

In the majority of circuits, most appeals are decided solely on the basis of briefs submitted to the court. In other circuits, the court more often renders its decision after oral argument, which is a structured discussion in which both sides present arguments on the legal principles in the dispute. Each side is given a short time, typically 15 minutes, to present its case, but the judges may interrupt to ask any questions they have. Oral arguments traditionally are open to the public.

Judicial Conference policy leaves it to the individual appellate courts to decide whether electronic and photographic coverage of oral arguments will be allowed. The Second and Ninth Circuits will consider requests for such coverage in civil cases. The Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits make available on the Internet digital recordings of oral arguments.

Some time after the submission of briefs or after oral argument, the court of appeals will issue a decision, usually accompanied by an opinion explaining its rationale. A decision may be reached by a 3-0 or 2-1 vote. A decision will take into account and apply any relevant precedents, similar cases already decided by that court, or by the U.S. Supreme Court.

This decision will be controlling unless: (1) the judges send the case back to the trial court for additional proceedings (i.e. remand the case); (2) the court determines on its own that the matter should be reheard because of a potential conflict with a prior decision; (3) the parties seek a rehearing before the panel; (4) the parties seek review before the full appeals court (called an en banc session); or (5) the parties seek review in the Supreme Court.

Federal courts of appeals issue tens of thousands of decisions each year, and only a small percentage of them are taken to the Supreme Court, which grants review only to a fraction of the cases it receives. Opinions issued by the courts of appeals and by the Supreme Court are posted on the respective court web sites.

Bankruptcy Appellate Panels

Appeals of decisions made by bankruptcy judges may be filed with the district court, or, in some circuits, with the bankruptcy appellate panel, which is composed of three bankruptcy judges from within the circuit. The law requires the judicial council of each circuit to establish a bankruptcy appellate panel to hear bankruptcy appeals unless the judicial council (see definition in Key Players) finds that there are insufficient judicial resources in the circuit, or that the establishment of a bankruptcy appellate panel would result in undue delay or increased costs to the parties in bankruptcy cases.

There are two additional requirements that must be satisfied before an appeal in a bankruptcy case can be heard by a bankruptcy appellate panel: the district judges in each district must authorize the referral of appeals from the district court to the bankruptcy appellate panel; and the parties to the appeal must consent to the appeal being heard by the panel. A member of the bankruptcy appellant panel may not hear an appeal originating in the district from which such member is appointed. Whether an appeal is heard by a district judge or a bankruptcy appellate panel, any further appeal of a bankruptcy case must be made to the court of appeals.

A bankruptcy appellate panel has been established in the First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits. In the First and Ninth Circuits, the panels may hear appeals from all districts in their circuits. The Sixth Circuit panel hears appeals arising only in the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio and the Western District of Tennessee. The Eighth Circuit panel hears all appeals except those arising from the Districts of North Dakota and South Dakota. The Tenth Circuit's panel hears all appeals except those originating in the District of Colorado.

top

This page is maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the U.S. Courts. The purpose of this site is to function as a clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.

Privacy and Security Notices