appeals and appellate courts

what happens if somones’s is dissatisfied with the outcome of a case

• an appeal usually consists of legal arguments as to why the original decision should be altered

• an appeal is made to the next court in the hierarchy and heard by a panel of three judges

• it is rare for new evidence to be heard, there must be legal grounds for an appeal - more than the judge just got the decision wrong

• an appeal usually has to be made within 21 days of the original hearing

• if an appeal is made costs will increase as lawyers will probably be required to give reasons for appeal

• the appeal court can agree with the original decision or reverse it same with compensation

appeals from the county court

• if the original decision was made by a district judge for example in the small claims court an appeal will be heard by a circuit judge of the same court

• if the original decision was made by a circuit judge an appeal can be made to a high court judge of the division relevant to the case

• an appeal can be made directly to the court of appeal if the case raises an important point of priciple or practice and the court of appeal agrees to hear it

appeals from the high court

an appeal from the high court will be heard by the court of appeal, if one of the parties wishes to appeal further it will be taken to the supreme court but only with permission from the court of appeal

• the supreme court is the highest court for hearing civil appeals

• permission is only given if there is a point of law of general public importance involved or the case raises issues of sufficing importance to justify the leap frog

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