Appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction is the power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right. Depending on the type of case and the decision below, appellate review primarily consists of: an entirely new hearing (a trial de novo); a hearing where the appellate court gives deference to factual findings of the lower court; or review of particular legal rulings made by the lower court (an appeal on the record).

Courts of the United States

Under Article Three of the United States Constitution, all judicial power of the United States is vested in one supreme court, the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court hears cases almost exclusively under its appellate jurisdiction (although the United States Constitution provides for original jurisdiction in limited circumstances). The Supreme Court may review decisions of federal courts as well as the decisions of U.S. state courts involving questions of constitutionality or federal statutory law.

Through its Article Three power to create "such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish," Congress has created twelve geographic circuits where hundreds of district courts (organized in 89 judicial districts) and appellate courts (referred to as United States Courts of Appeals) sit. The district courts are the trial courts and the circuit courts are the appellate courts. In most cases, one may appeal by right final orders of a district court to a circuit court.

In some circumstances as set forth by Congress, district courts sit as appellate courts (e.g., of decisions of United States Bankruptcy Courts).Review decisions made by lower district courts.

Standard of Review

Appellate courts use self-imposed, prudential guidelines in how they review a lower court's decision. This is called the standard of review, which refers to the amount of deference, if any, the court gives to the lower court's decision. The amount of deference varies depending the particular issue of the appeal: fact, law, or discretion.

In reviewing an issue of fact, an appellate court ordinarily gives deference to the trial court's findings of fact (since making factual findings is the duty of trial judges or juries; and as fact-finder, they view the evidence firsthand and can observe witness testimony). When reviewing lower decisions on an issue of fact, courts of appeal usually review for "clear error." The appellate court reviews issues of law de novo (anew, no deference) and may overturn the lower court's decision if the appellate court believes the lower court misapplied the facts to the law or applied the wrong legal standard. An appellate court may also review the lower court judge's decisions of discretions (such as granting a new trial or disallowing evidence). Review is for "abuse of discretion." This standard tends to be even more deferential than the "clear error" standard.

Sources

United States Constitution, Article III (1783). [http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleiii.html]

UnitedStatesCode|28|1291:

:The courts of appeals (other than the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district courts of the United States, the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone, the District Court of Guam, and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, except where a direct review may be had in the Supreme Court. The jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall be limited to the jurisdiction described in sections 1292 (c) and (d) and 1295 of this title.
* [http://www.uscourts.gov/about.html U.S. Courts website]