USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Courtney Scobie, Jack Edwards and Andrea Whitley, Ajamie LLP
er types of appellate review can be available, such as interlocutory appeals of certain issues. This type of review is usually provided for by federal statutes. Most cases do not proceed to the US Supreme Court and the vast majority are resolved at the Court of Appeals level. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments Appeals of judgments in federal court in the USA are governed by a set of rules and procedures designed to ensure that parties have the oppor- tunity to challenge lower court decisions. In most cases, parties have a right to appeal a final judg- ment or order issued by a federal district court to the appropriate US Court of Appeals. To appeal, a party must have legal standing, which means they must be an aggrieved par- ty directly affected by the judgment. In other words, they must have a personal stake in the outcome of the case. 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal The first step in the appeal process as described here is filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the district court that issued the judgment. This notice must be filed within a specified timeframe. • Time limit for filing a notice of appeal – in most cases, a party has 30 days (60 days if the USA is a party) from the entry of the judgment or order they wish to appeal. The clock begins ticking on the day the judgment is entered. If the judgment is entered elec- tronically, the 30-day period typically starts running on the date of electronic entry (28 USC Section 2107(a) Federal Rule of Appel- late Procedure (FRAP) 4). • Appealing non-final orders – if a party wishes to appeal a non-final order, such as an inter- locutory order, the time limit for filing a notice
of appeal may be different. Parties should consult the Federal Rules of Appellate Proce- dure or local rules for the specific deadlines in such cases. • Designating the record – after filing the notice of appeal, the appellant (the party appealing) must designate the parts of the trial court record they wish to include in the appellate record. This includes transcripts of relevant proceedings and any necessary exhibits. • Appellate briefs – the appellant and the appellee (the party responding to the appeal) file appellate briefs presenting their legal arguments and responses. These briefs out- line the issues on appeal and the legal basis for challenging or defending the lower court’s decision. • Oral argument (if scheduled) – in some cases, the Court of Appeals may schedule oral argu- ments, during which the parties’ attorneys present their arguments to a panel of judges. Oral arguments provide an opportunity for parties to further explain their positions and for the judges to question the attorneys. • Appellate decision – the Court of Appeals reviews the case and issues a written deci- sion, either affirming, reversing or remanding the lower court’s decision. The decision may contain legal analysis and reasoning. The triggering events for filing an appeal are as follows. • Entry of final judgment – in most cases, the trigger for filing an appeal is the entry of a final judgment or order by the district court. This marks the completion of the trial court proceedings. • Interlocutory appeals – in some cases, parties may seek interlocutory appeals for non- final orders, which can include decisions on
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