Sometimes a party can appeal the decision of a judge or a jury. This is not true in every case, but it is true where there has been an “error of law” that affected the decision. A party who wishes to appeal a decision must give ” notice” within thirty days of the judgment from which he or she is appealing.

Appeals are different from proceedings before a trial court or administrative agency. On appeal, you must make all your arguments in writing. You cannot present witnesses. You cannot present new evidence. Usually, you can only make arguments about issues that were raised and decided in the lower court proceedings and cannot make new arguments.

Appeals do not typically focus on the facts of a case. The judge or the jury decided those facts at the trial, and unless there is no credible evidence supporting those factual findings, an appellate court must accept those findings of fact and cannot change them. Instead, appeals deals with whether a judge or jury applied the law correctly.

There is not a right to appeal in every case. Indeed, if you file a “frivolous appeal” in civil case, you may be ordered to pay the opposing party’s costs and attorneys’ fees. The party bringing the appeal has a responsibility to research court rules, case law, and constitutional issues, if applicable, and must evaluate whether a particular decision can be appealed in good faith.

What follows are the typical stages of an appeal. This is a guideline to help you understand the process generally. It is by no means inclusive of the process for all appeals. Although there are a lot of similarities, we have separate pages describing a few differences between civil appeals and criminal appeals.