Understanding Successful Appeals
What is an appeal?
Understanding successful appeals is quite simple. The first steps are learning what an appeal is. For those wondering about an upcoming case or those who have been to trial but believe they were wronged somehow in the proceedings, an appeal is defined as “an application to a higher court for a decision to be reversed”. A higher court always has the last say over a smaller court which is why the appeal must go to them given that the smaller court has already ruled against you.
Grounds for an Appeal:
The key to understanding successful appeals is you must know the grounds on which one can be filed. Not every party that receives a guilty verdict can appeal the decision. To appeal a trials ruling, you must have grounds for the appeal. The grounds can be misconduct by jury, misconduct by the other side, new evidence, a mistake of law or any other error made during the trial that led to the verdict. The Supreme Court or Court of Appeals in some states, is a body of law that determines whether or not there was really an error or whether a decision was made based off a misinterpretation of the law. If they find an issue with the case then they can overturn the ruling or the case can go back to trial to a higher court for additional proceedings. It is the duty of your lawyer to convince a panel of judges at these courts that there was a mistake.
Types of Cases and Who Can Appeal:
Civil Case: A civil
case is a lawsuit between two parties where one side is usually looking for damages. It is a dispute between two parties. After a civil case both parties can appeal the decision. An appeal to a decision could either mean the case is upheld or, it isn’t and in that case it can return to trial or the damages are given in your favor.
Criminal Case: A criminal case is when someone has committed a crime and is prosecuted by the state or US. The victim is not a party in this because whatever may have been the crime, society as a whole deems it a crime. For example, if someone is kidnapped, the state would prosecute the person charged because a kidnapper is deemed a threat to society as a whole and not just the one victim. After a criminal case only the defendant can appeal the guilty decision however both may appeal the sentence to fit the specific act committed more justly.
If you believe your verdict was concluded by way of wrongful proceedings then you may have a case for an appeal and should seek legal help. Personal injury is a specific type of case that includes damages and can be appealed just like any other case given that there are grounds. If you think you might have been wronged in your civil case then call Malloy Law Offices and get a free consultation.