Federal Court Basics
Part 015

Appellate court procedure.

The courts of appeals usually assign a panel of three judges to each case. The panel decides the case for the entire court. Sometimes, when the parties request it, or when there is a question of unusual importance, the entire appeals court, sitting en banc, will reconsider a panel's decision or hear the case anew.

In making its decision, the panel reviews key parts of the record on appeal, which consists of all the documents filed in the case at trial along with the transcript of the proceedings at the trial. The panel then learns about the lawyers' legal arguments from two sources. One is the lawyers' briefs. Briefs are written documents (often anything but brief) that explain each side's case and tell why the court should decide 'in its favor. The second source of information about the lawyers' legal argu­ments is the oral argument. If the court permits oral argument, each side's lawyers have a limited amount of time to explain its case to the judges in a formal courtroom session, and the judges frequently ques­tion them about the relevant law.

After the submission of briefs and oral argument, the judges cli,~ the case privately, consider any relevant precedents, and reach a decision. At least two of the three judges on the panel must agree with the decision. One of those who agree is chosen to write an opinion, which announces the decision and explains it. Any judge who disagrees, the majority's opinion may file a dissenting opinion, giving his of reasons for disagreeing. Many appellate opinions are published in books of opinions called reporters. The opinions are read carefully by other judges and lawyers looking for precedents to guide them in their own cases. The accumulated judicial opinions make up a body of law known as case law, which is usually an accurate predictor of how future cases will be decided. Increasingly, the courts of appeals use short, unsigned opinions, which often are not published, for decisions that, in the judges' view, are important only to the parties and contribute nothing to case law.

If you visit a court of appeals in session, you will notice how it differs from the federal trial courts. There are no jurors, witnesses, or court  reporters. The lawyers for both sides are present, but the parties usually are not.

Federal Court Basics-Table of Contents 
Federal Court Jurisdiction-Table of Contents   
Part 003-Map: Geographical boundaries of U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts-pdf

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