The Appeal Court - Research Paper Example

 The Appeal Court Any litigant who had lost a case in the trials court has the legal right to appeal against the decision and ask for its review in the federal court of appeal. The appeal court may or may not grant review to the litigant and has the authority to overturn the verdict given by the trial court if they find the verdict to be erroneous. Any defendant or a litigant who did not receive a favorable decision from the trial court can appeal the verdict to a federal court of appeals for its review. If the litigant is found guilty of some or all the charges then they have the legal right to file a petition for reviewing the decision to at least one level of appellate court. There are several courts of appeal in the United States and a litigant can appeal the court's verdict in these courts in a hierarchal manner until the case reaches the Supreme Court. On a broader term, an appeal is a formal request to a higher court to review the decisions made by the trial court in a particular case. Persons receiving unfavorable verdict are the one who makes the appeal. The litigant who files an appeal or a petition is known as the appellant and the persons who defend the decision of the lower court in the federal court of appeal is known as appellee. The appellant must try hard with proper evidence to prove to the courts of appeal that the verdict taken by the trial court has made a legal error which had affected the outcome of the case significantly. On the other hand, the appellee must also work to defend the trial court judgment and convince the court that the error, if any, caused by the trial court is not significant enough to affect the verdict. The appeal court has their own sets of rules for reviewing the verdict given by the trial court. The appeal court does not receive any additional pieces of evidence or hear any witness regarding the case. The court has the authority to overturn a verdict if they found it to be erroneous in interpreting the law. An appeal court generally comprises a panel of three judges who work together to review the case petitioned by the appellant. The appellant and the appellee submit the legal arguments of the concerned case to the panel in writing in a document which is known as the brief. Almost all the cases which are sent to the appeals court are heard on the basis of the writ filed by the appellant and the appellee. However, there can be certain cases where the court may ask for oral argument in order to have a better understanding of the case before giving the final verdict. The oral argument asked by the appeals court is a structured discussion which happens between the appellant’s lawyers and the panel of judges. The argument is essentially based on the difference of understanding of a particular law. Both the sides are generally given a short notice of fifteen minutes to present their case. The decision made by the appeals court after its careful revision is considered to be a final decision unless the appeals court sends the case back to trial court for additional proceedings. The litigant also has the option to file a request petition to the Supreme Court for reviewing the case. The Supreme Court may or may not grant review to all the cases. The review is only granted in cases which involve an important law which has been interpreted differently by two or more courts. The appeal process is very necessary for a fair trial as it gives enough chances to the litigant to prove their innocence before the court gives the final verdict. Although the government has tried their best to make the trial systems fair and just, yet a lot should be done for further improving the overall judicial system of the country. It is important that due time is given to all the cases. No case under any circumstances should be judged swiftly because of any kind of pressure. It is also very necessary that none of the cases are delayed because of the lack of resources or man power. The government should take all measures to appoint more judges for improving the overall federal judiciary system. The appeal is necessary for strengthening the overall judicial system of the country by making it more fair and just. Appeals have been very beneficial in numerous cases where the entire decision made by the trial court has been reversed in favor of the appellant. The above statement can be demonstrated by using a real life case of an appellant Jonathan Parker who was convicted by the trial court for murdering his associate Leroy Lewis. The defendant Parker then filed an appeal for reviewing the court's verdict. The appeal was based on the fact that the evidence put forth by the prosecution was not sufficient enough to prove him guilty and the decision should be reversed in favor of the appellant. According to the case, the prosecution in the trial court postulated that both Jonathan Parker and Leroy Lewis were narcotics dealers and that Parker had killed his associate Lewis because of his failure to share the robbed cocaine equally among themselves. The prosecution argued that Parker shot Lewis on his head after discovering that Lewis had lied about the total amount of narcotics stolen. The prosecution roped in three other drug dealers to strengthen their argument. On the other side, Jonathan Parker appealed that the evidence put forth by the government was not direct but a wrong inference which was deducted out of unrelated activities. His main defense points were that there was no eyewitness to testify the shooting or to give any statements concerning about the shooting. The prosecution also could not prove the matching of DNA or fingerprints nor the motive for killing. They also failed to find or identify the weapon used for killing Lewis. The above case shows how the prosecution used circumstantial evidence to present their case. The appeals court, in this case, had to reverse the decision as this circumstantial evidence does not stand as absolute evidence against the appellant. The court decision must be based on concrete evidence which supports the conclusion of the inference drawn by the prosecution against the defendant. Reference Appeals Process Paper. (n.d.). In United States Courts. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from http://www.uscourts.gov Read More