CHAPTER ELEVEN

1. CHAPTER ELEVEN COURTS OF APPELLATE JURISDICTION

2. Introduction • 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

3. 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

4. Structure of State Appellate Courts • 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

5. Structure of State Appellate Courts • 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

6. U.S. Courts of Appeals • 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

7. U.S. Supreme Court • Created by Article III of the Constitution • Increasing number of cases filed and terminated • Broad jurisdiction • Original jurisdiction is rarely exercised • Functions • Judicial review • Applies to acts of lower courts, legislatures, and executive officers • Fundamental part of the U.S. constitutional system • Docket control • Writs of certiorari • Discretionary review • Independent calendar (first Monday in October until late June or early July) • The Supreme Court may not have the final word on an issue • Constitutional amendment • Congressional legislation • Executive enforcement • Supreme Court has significant symbolic authority

8. Judges and Justices of Appellate Courts • Appointed by President and confirmed by Senate • Have life tenure • May be removed through impeachment • Extremely elite group • Most are white males • Prominent families • Prestigious legal education • Successful legal careers • Increasing numbers of women and minorities

9. Appellate Court Decision Making • 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

10. Requirements for Appeal • 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

11. Workloads of Appellate Courts • 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

12. 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

13. The Mechanisms for Appeal • 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

14. Federal Post-Conviction Relief • Called collateral relief • Writs of habeas corpus • 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

15. The Outcomes of Appeal • Few cases are successful on appeal • Most people receive the sentence originally imposed