What is an Appeal and Why do I need an Appeals Lawyer?
By Kathi
M. Sandweiss
An appeal is a request for a higher court to review a lower
court's decision. An appeals lawyer handles cases on appeal when a
party loses or is unhappy with some part of the decision made by
the lower court. The appeals court reviews the record made in the
trial court. Nothing new can be added to the record; this is
not the time to add new facts or evidence. The appeal is not a
trial and looks nothing like what you see on TV. The appeal
is much less exciting, and is typically handled by a lawyer who is
experienced and skilled at research and writing, like the lawyers
in our appeals department. An appeals lawyer presents the facts and
law to the appeals court in a legal brief that looks like a book.
The appeals court decides whether to affirm or to reverse the trial
court's decision based upon the written briefs.
When an appeals lawyer represents you as the appellant - the
person who is appealing - the lawyer tells the appeals court why
the trial court made errors and should be reversed. When an appeals
lawyer represents you as the appellee - the person who is defending
the trial court's decision - the lawyer explains why the court
ruled correctly.
In Arizona, the Court of Appeals reviews decisions made by the
superior court. There are two divisions of the Court of
Appeals; if your case was litigated in Superior Court in Maricopa,
Yuma, La Paz, Mohave, Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo or Apache County,
it will be heard in Division One of the Court of Appeals.
Cases arising out of Superior Courts in the other counties
are heard in Division Two. If you are unhappy with the decision in
superior court, you have 30 days to file your notice of appeal. The
time limit is absolutely firm; it's called "jurisdictional," which
means you absolutely cannot miss the deadline or you will most
likely forfeit your right to appeal.
With the notice of appeal, you need to:
- file a cost bond, and
- within 10 days file a docketing statement, and
- within 10 days certify that you have arranged for transcripts
of your hearing.
When you first meet with an appeals lawyer, she will need to
look at a few important papers. The most important
document is the judgment. An appeals lawyer will want to find
out if it's a final, signed, appealable judgment. Next, an
appeals lawyer will look at the record of the case - the
transcripts of the hearings and the documents you presented to the
court - to decide whether there is an appealable issue and whether
the trial judge made a mistake that can be corrected on appeal.
People always want to tell appeals lawyers about all the mistakes
their trial lawyer made. But that doesn't help you on appeal
because your appeals lawyer will have to work with what is already
in the record. Remember, the appeals court will not review
anything that was not presented or is not part of the official
court record from the trial court. If you are the party who
is appealing, the job of your appeals lawyer is to explain to the
appeals court why, based upon the information presented to the
trial judge, the trial court ruled incorrectly and should be
reversed.
Finally, you may wonder why you would need an appeals lawyer if
you won your case. If your opponent is unhappy with the decision
and appeals it, you need an appeals lawyer to write a brief on your
behalf to defend the decision. When an appeals lawyer represents
the appellee - the person who won - it's her job to show the
appeals court that the trial court reviewed all the evidence
presented and ruled correctly.
From the desk of Kathi M. Sandweiss, lead attorney in the
Jaburg Wilk Appellate Department
Jaburg Wilk - 3200 N. Central Ave.
Ste. 2000 - Phoenix, AZ 85012