Glossary

Appellate court

A higher court that reviews decisions of trial courts (and sometimes lower appellate courts). Appellate courts don't hear new evidence: they review the written record and the lawyers' arguments to decide if the lower court made a legal error.

Appellate courts work very differently from trial courts. There's no jury. No witnesses testify. No new evidence comes in. Instead, the lawyers (or pro se parties) file written briefs arguing their positions, and the court may schedule oral argument where the lawyers stand up and answer the judges' questions for 15-30 minutes per side.

The appellate court doesn't ask "would we have ruled the same way?" It asks "did the trial court make a legal error big enough to change the result?" That's a much narrower question, and it's why most appeals lose.

In the federal system, intermediate appellate courts are called the Courts of Appeals (the "Circuits"). In state systems, names vary: Court of Appeal, Appellate Division, Court of Special Appeals, etc.