What is an appellate court?
Q: What is an appellate court?
A: An appellate court, also known as an appeals court, court of appeals (American English), appeal court (British English), court of second instance or second instance court, is a type of court that hears appeals from lower courts.
Q: How many levels are there in most jurisdictions' court systems?
A: Most jurisdictions have at least three levels in their court system - the trial court which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts of the case; at least one intermediate appellate court; and a supreme or last resortcourt which primarily reviews the decisions of the intermediate courts.
Q: What is a jurisdiction's supreme/last resortcourt?
A: A jurisdiction's supreme/last resortcourt is that jurisdiction's highest appellate court.
Q: Do appellate courts nationwide operate by varying rules?
A: Yes, appellate courts nationwide can operate by varying rules.
Q: What powers do appellate courts have to review decisions of lower courts?
A: The authority of appellate courts to review decisions of lower courts varies widely from one jurisdiction to another. In some places, the appellate court has limited powers of review.
Q: What does an appellate judgment provide?
A: Generally speaking, an appellate judgment provides 'the final directive of the appeals courts as to the matter appealed, setting out with specificity the court's determination that the action appealed from should be affirmed, reversed, remanded or modified'.
