The United States Courts of Appeals, are
also referred to as Circuit Courts, are the first step in any case that is being
appealed. A case that is appealed is a
case where the final verdict is being challenged by either the plaintiff or the
defendant of the original case. The
individual who file for an appeal is the appellant and the opposing party is
the appellee. The Circuit Court of
Appeals decides whether they will hear the case, refuse to hear the case, or
return it to the lower Court or District Court to be reheard or for
retrial. The appellate Court can throw
out all or any part of a verdict by a lower court.
Appeals Case Statistics
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals
judicial case load profile, in 2007 there were 58,410 new Appeals filled in the
U.S. added to the overflow cases of previous years, the total was 62,846 cases
waiting to be heard. Out of those 31,717
were terminated on merits alone and 28, 755 were terminated on procedural
applications, meaning roughly 96% of appeals cases were not fully heard.
Courts of Appeal
In the U.S. there are thirteen Circuit
Courts of Appeals including eleven regional Circuit Courts, the Circuit Court
of Washington D.C., and the Federal Circuit Court. They represent geographical areas of the U.S. as
follows:
- The
Federal Circuit Court in Washington D.C serves the Federal Government
- The
D.C. Circuit Court in Washington D.C. serves the District
of Columbia
- The
1st Circuit Court in Boston serves Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
and Puerto Rico
- The
2nd Circuit Court in New York serves New York, Connecticut,
and Vermont
- The
3rd Circuit Court in Philadelphia serves Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands
- The
4th Circuit Court in Richmond serves Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
and West Virginia
- The
5th Circuit Court in New Orleans serves Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Texas
- The
6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati serves Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee
- The
7th Circuit Court in Chicago serves Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
- The
8th Circuit Court in St. Louis serves Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota,
and South Dakota
- The
9th Circuit Court in San Francisco serves California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands
- The
10th Circuit Court in Denver serves Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming
- The
11th Circuit Court in Atlanta serves Georgia, Alabama,
and Florida
There are also independent Courts of
appeal like the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, but such Courts are
limited to cases within their specific jurisdictions or designations. The Federal Circuit of Appeals has nationwide
jurisdiction over certain cases of appeal according to the subject matter,
specialized trial Courts, U.S.
Court of International Trade, U.S.
Court of Federal Claims, and Appeals from District Courts in certain matters.
Appellate Courts are very tolerant of minor
procedural mistakes when it comes to the preparation of appellate record and
briefs as long as they do not interfere with the Court's ability to render a
justifiable verdict or hinder judgment on the merits of a particular case.
If you are interested in appealing your case, talk to a lawyer who can help.