Appeals Process (Term Paper Sample)

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Appeals Process
Introduction
According to Black’s Law Dictionary (2004) an appeal is a payer/petition to a superior court to review or formally change the decision of a subordinate court with the intention that the decision be reversed. It is not a new hearing because the appeal courts don’t retry cases. The party that lodges the appeal request is referred to as the petitioner/appellant whereas the other party is referred to as the respondent. Usually, appeals are filed by parties that lose in cases or are unhappy with the final decisions made by subordinate courts.(Monteldo, 2014) In the United States of America the Supreme Court is the highest court in the hierarchy and its decisions are binding. In the Supreme Court, the petitioner files a certiorari and if it is successful the court will then grant a certiorari. A certiorari is the document used to file an appeal request in the Supreme Court.
The Appeal Process and the Overall Criminal Procedure
Appeals are filed by parties that lose in cases or are unhappy with the final decisions made by subordinate courts and want to challenge those decisions in superior courts with the intention of reversing them on grounds of errors of law or facts or failure to follow due process. The petitioner must convince the court that the lower court erred in its final decision. There is no specific or absolute right to appeal decisions from subordinate courts enshrined in the U.S. constitution but this right can be inferred from the provisions governing due process in the constitution. (Carrington et al, 1976)
In a civil both parties can appeal subordinate courts’ verdict whereas in criminal proceedings only the accused can appeal. Appeals in the U.S. judicial system are governed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. (Carrington et al, 1976)
The aggrieved party in criminal proceedings may appeal (within the set statutory timeline) a subordinate court’s final verdict to a superior court through a written brief explaining the erroneous application of the law by the trial (lower) court in its final decision. During the appeal hearing the court reviews the trial court’s proceedings which are on record for errors. After reviewing the appeal, the court will reverse the verdict or issue a remand for a fresh trial if it is discovered that the trial court’s proceedings contain reversible errors. However, if the court finds no errors it will affirm the lower court’s final verdict by applying the stare decis (let the decision stand as it is) principle. (Orfield, 1934)
The U.S. Supreme Court mostly reviews appeals on constitutional issues. In Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367 (1979), the appellant appealed after being denied the right to appointed state counsel at his expense and convicted of the offense of shoplifting after a bench trial. Both the intermediate appellate and Supreme Courts of Illinois affirmed the final conviction of the trial court and stated that the court wasn’t obligated to extend its decision in Argersinger v Hamlin (1972) to the case. The aggrieved petitioner further lodged his appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court. In its’ judgment, the court affirmed the Supreme Court of Illinois’ decision that the Constitution did not require the trial court to appoint a state counsel for the petitioner.
Courts must adhere to all criminal procedures and processes enshrined in the amendments to the constitution which is the supreme law of the land. Appeals factor in the criminal procedure because the appeal process in criminal cases starts after a final conviction in a subordinate trial court. Appeals strive to refine and expound the substantive doctrine and procedures in the criminal justice system. (Arkin, 1992).Usually, the legal errors alleged by the petitioner are likely to have occurred during the trial itself or the criminal justice procedures leading up to the trial process. The courts of appeal will review and examine pre-trial procedures such as the way searches and interrogations were conducted and how the trial proceedings such as according legal representation to the accused were carried. The court will use the findings from the review to determine whether the trial courts erred in its application of the law and as a result acted unconstitutionally.
The final and binding decisions arrived at by the courts of appeal directly affects the criminal procedures and processes because those decisions will form precedent that will affect the prosecution, police force and judicial officers such as trial magistrates and judges. For example if the police erred during...