Legal Dictionary
Main Entry:
court of appealsoften cap C&A : a court hearing appeals from the decisions of lower courts: as
a : an intermediate court of the U.S. federal judicial system
b : a state appellate court called also
court of appeal —see also the
JUDICIAL SYSTEM in the back matter
NOTE: Not all of the states have intermediate-level courts but of those that do, many are called the Court of Appeals or, in California and Louisiana, the Court of Appeal. In Hawaii, such a court is called the Intermediate Court of Appeals. In some states, appeals are divided between a court of criminal appeals and a court of civil appeals. In the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York the court of last resort is called the Court of Appeals, and the intermediate court in Maryland is called the Court of Special Appeals. In West Virginia the court of last resort is called the Supreme Court of Appeals. In England the Court of Appeal is a division of the Supreme Court of Judicature.
