| U.s. Court Of Appeals |
Article Index for U.s |
Articles about United States Court Of Appeals |
Website Links For United States |
Information AboutU.s. Court Of Appeals |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS | |
| united states courts of appeals | |
| judicial branch of the united states government | |
| court of appeals | |
|
There currently are thirteen United States courts of appeals, although there are other tribunals (such as the Court Of Appeals For The Armed Forces , which hears appeals in Court-martial cases) that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles. The eleven "numbered" circuits and the D.C. Circuit are geographically defined. The thirteenth court of appeal is the United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit , which has nationwide jurisdiction over certain appeals based on subject matter. All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some administrative agency decisions and rulemaking, with by far the largest share of these cases heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts, primarily the United States Court Of International Trade and the United States Court Of Federal Claims , as well as appeals from the district courts in Patent cases and certain other specialized matters. The circuit with the least number of appellate judges is the First Circuit , and the one with the most is the Ninth Circuit . The number of judges Congress has authorized for each circuit is set forth in the U.S. Code (U.S.C.) at Title 28, Section 44. Although the courts of appeals are frequently referred to as "circuit courts," they should not be confused with the historical United States Circuit Court s, which existed from 1789 to 1911 and were primarily trial courts. PROCEDURE Trials, at which witnesses and other evidence are presented to a jury or judge in order to determine the truth or facts regarding a particular case, are held only in courts with original jurisdiction. Such trial courts also determine what, if any, punishment (in criminal cases), or what damages (in civil cases) should be awarded. Because the courts of appeals possess only appellate jurisdiction, they do not hold trials. Instead, appeals courts decide only the question of whether the trial court followed proper procedures in reaching its conclusion in a particular case. Accordingly, an appeals court considers only the record (that is, the papers the parties filed and the transcripts and any exhibits from any trial) from the trial court, and the legal arguments of the parties. These arguments, which are presented in written form, and can range in length from dozens to hundreds of pages, are paradoxicaly known as " Brief s". Sometimes lawyers are permitted to add to their written briefs with Oral Argument s before the appeals judges. At such hearings, only the parties' lawyers speak to the court. An appellate court cannot find anyone "guilty" or "not guilty". Because the appeals court is judging the trial itself, not the defendant, no one is ever convicted or sentenced by an appeals court. When a convicted criminal "wins" an appeal, it does not mean that he is now found to be innocent. It means that his trial was judged by the appeals court to have been improperly conducted in one way or another. He or she is still subject to being tried again on the same charges. Sometimes the prosecutor will opt not to try the person again, and the charges are therefore dropped entirely. The rules that govern the procedure in the courts of appeals are the ''Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure''. In a court of appeals, an appeal is almost always heard by a "panel" of three of the court's judges, although there are instances where all of the judges will participate in an En Banc hearing. As a rule, there is no right to appeal a decision of the federal circuit court to the Supreme Court Of The United States , but a party may apply to that court to review a ruling of the circuit court—called petitioning for a Writ Of Certiorari —and if the Supreme Court agrees, then the matter is treated as an appeal to the Supreme Court from the circuit court. A court of appeals may also certify questions to the Supreme Court , a rare procedure that was used by the Second Circuit, sitting en banc, in ''United States v. Penaranda'', as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in '' Blakely V. Washington ''. 28 U.S.C. 1254(2). ATTORNEYS In order to serve as counsel in a case appealed to a circuit court the attorney must be admitted to the bar of that circuit. The United States does not have a separate Bar Examination for federal practice (except with respect to Patent Law ). Admission To The Bar of a circuit court is granted as a matter of course to any attorney who is admitted to practice law in any state of the United States, whether within the circuit or before another federal court of appeals. The attorney submits an application, pays a fee, and takes the oath of admission. Local practice varies as to whether the oath is given in writing or in open court before a judge of the circuit. NOMENCLATURE When the courts of appeals were created in 1891, one was created for each of the nine circuits then existing, and each court was named the “United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the ''N''th Circuit”. When a court of appeals was created for the District of Columbia in 1893, it was named the “Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia”, and it was renamed to the “United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia” in 1934. In 1948, Congress renamed all of the courts of appeals then existing to their current formal names: the court of appeals for each numbered circuit was named the “United States Court of Appeals for the ''N''th Circuit”, and the “United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia” became the “United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit”. U.S. COURTS OF APPEALS See each article for a listing of the States within each circuit's jurisdiction, or a complete listing under United States Federal Judicial Circuit . SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|