THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHYS OF APPEALS: A SERIES

Appellate law is quite different than trial law, but generally little is known about it by the public. There is no Law and Order: Appeals Division. An appeal is when someone who loses a case in a trial court asks the next level higher court, also called an appellate court, to review the trial court’s legal decisions. An appeal is not a new trial, so new evidence or witnesses are not usually considered by the courts. The facts that came out during the trial are assumed to be true. If this seems confusing to you, you are not alone. This series of posts is meant to help clarify a few points about the appeals process.