When a litigant receives an unfavorable result, they may wish to have a higher court review the case. This step-by-step guide is intended to assist you if you are considering making an appeal or already involved in the appellate process.
All cases start at the trial level of the judicial system. In the state of New York, trial-level courts are known as Supreme Courts, and there is one in every county. In New York, appeals from any Supreme Court go to the Appellate Division. The Appellate Division is broken into four “departments.” The departments are intended to provide appellate coverage throughout the State of New York and are located in Manhattan (1st Department), Brooklyn (2nd Department), Albany (3rd Department), and Rochester (4th Department). If for any reason a litigant disagrees with an order or judgment issued from any one of the appellate division departments, they may appeal to New York’s “court of last resort,” named the Court of Appeals, which is located in Albany, New York.
At the trial level, a Court may issue orders or judgments, with which a litigant may disagree. If that is the case, and they plan to appeal, they must file a Notice of Appeal with the “court of original instance,” or the Court that issued the decision or order, within 30 days of the Court’s entry of the judgment or order. Only judgments or orders are appealable; nothing else that a Court issues other than these documents are considered “appealable papers” and thus qualifies for the appeals process.
Once a litigant has filed and served the Notice of Appeal with the court system and upon their adversary, the party has 6 months to “perfect,” or fully submit both a Record on Appeal and a Brief in support of their position. The Record on Appeal is a compilation of all relevant documents from the proceeding in the trial court and is used to provide appellate judges with background on the case. The Brief is a document that makes legal arguments for a litigant concerning the order or judgment that they appealed from.
The party pursuing the appeal is known as the “Appellant.” The other party, who is often not contesting the order of judgment, is known as the “Respondent.” Once the Appellant fully submits their Record on Appeal and Brief, the Respondent has an opportunity to submit their own Brief, which often makes an argument for why the trial court’s decision in the order or judgment was correct and should be upheld. Finally, the Appellant has an opportunity to submit another Brief which responds to the points the Respondent raised in their Brief.
Once all Briefs are submitted, the appeals court will schedule an oral argument. The oral argument is an opportunity for the attorneys for both the Appellant and the Respondent to appear before a panel of Judges to verbally argue their Briefs and positions and to answer any questions the Judges may have. Once the oral argument is complete, the appeals court will issue an order or judgment deciding on the appeal.
If you are considering making an appeal to a New York State or federal court, give us a call to explore your options.
This is not intended to be legal advice. Please speak with an attorney to discuss your specific situation.
Lauren E. Scott is an associate attorney at J&G Law concentrating in civil and commercial litigation. She can be reached at 845-764-9656 or by email.