COURTS OF APPELLATE JURISDICTION
 Errors inevitably occur in the court system
 Appellate courts review issues of law
 The issues of law are related to decisions made
by other courts and administrative agencies
 Appellate court characteristics
 No original jurisdiction
 Hear appeals from trial courts, administrative
boards/agencies
 Collegial courts
 Courts of record
 Appellate court functions
 Correct errors of law made by trial courts, administrative
boards/agencies
 Takes place primarily in the intermediate appellate courts
 Responsible for developing law
 Takes place primarily in the courts of last resort
 Variation among the states
 39 states have intermediate appellate courts
 Recent addition to state court structure
 Courts may meet at a central location
 Court judges may “ride circuit” to meet at different
locations
 Court may have regional divisions
 State variation on number of judges
 Dispose of most state appeals
 Some may be appealed to the state court of last resort
 Courts of Last Resort
 Name variation
 Size variation
 Selection method variation
 Election
 Appointment
 Merit selection
 Most justices serve fixed terms (6-12 years)
 Methods of discipline or removal from office
 Board or commission addresses judicial conduct and discipline
 Charges handled by board or sent to the state supreme court
 Outcomes range from a reprimand to dismissal from office
 Civil appeals and death penalty decisions comprise most
of the court’s work
 Also called Circuit Courts
 Created by the Judiciary Act of 1789
 Circuit Court of Appeals Act of 1891 changed court function
 Handle the majority of federal appeals
 Caseload
 State cases but appealed to federal district courts
 Cases that originated in federal district courts
 Small percentage of cases are appealed and few go beyond
Courts of Appeals
 Increasing number of cases filed and terminated
 Created by Article III of the Constitution
 Increasing number of cases filed and terminated
 Broad jurisdiction
 Original jurisdiction is rarely exercised
 Functions
 Judicial review
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Applies to acts of lower courts, legislatures, and executive officers
Fundamental part of the U.S. constitutional system
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Writs of certiorari
Discretionary review
Independent calendar (first Monday in October until late June or early July)
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Constitutional amendment
Congressional legislation
Executive enforcement
 Docket control
 The Supreme Court may not have the final word on an issue
 Supreme Court has significant symbolic authority
 Appointed by President and confirmed by Senate
 Have life tenure
 May be removed through impeachment
 Extremely elite group
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Most are white males
Prominent families
Prestigious legal education
Successful legal careers
Increasing numbers of women and minorities
 Collegial courts
 Cases are decided by groups of judges
 Often sit in 3-judge panels
 Court may sit en banc (as one body)
 Important or controversial cases
 U.S. Supreme Court
 Many state supreme courts
 Error of law
 Objection to error must be made
 Appeal must be timely
 State remedies must be exhausted, if applicable
 Court cannot issue advisory opinions
 Appealing party must have the resources to
undertake an appeal
 Constitutional right only extends to first-level appeals
 Special interest groups may finance the appeal
 Smaller workload than trial courts
 Solutions to increasing caseload
 Adding judges
 State courts are reluctant to increase the number of justices
 State supreme courts hear cases en banc
 Creating or expanding intermediate appellate courts
 Resulted in an increase in filings with intermediate appeals courts
 39 states have at least one intermediate appellate court
 Deciding cases in panels
 Most intermediate appellate courts utilize this approach
 Allows for caseload division
 En banc hearings are reserved for noteworthy cases
Additional Solutions to Increasing Caseload
 Employing law clerks and staff attorneys
 Responsibilities
 Supply information to judges
 Analyze the parties’ arguments
 Conduct legal research
 May result in bureaucracy and other issues
 May increase quantity but not quality of outcomes
 Deciding cases without opinion
 Unpublished and memorandum opinions
 Curtailing oral arguments
 Using summary judgments
 Mandatory/Automatic Appeals
 Court is obligated to review the case
 May result from state or federal constitutional provisions,
or state statutes
 Most common in intermediate appellate courts
 Discretionary Appeals
 Court has the option of accepting or rejecting the appeal
 Most common in courts of last resort
 Gives courts of last resort more control over their own
dockets
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Called collateral relief
Writs of habeas corpus
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Ask the state to prove that an inmate’s incarceration is
lawful
May result in a new trial or reversal of conviction
Increase in habeas corpus filings
Civil rights action
 42 U.S.C. § 1983
 Civil rights violations by police officers
 Unconstitutional conditions by corrections officials
 Raises issues about conditions of confinement
 May be civil or criminal
 Few cases are successful on appeal
 Most people receive the sentence originally
imposed