


Legal Information

After a Decision is Issued

What is an appeal?

An appeal is when you ask a higher court to review a decision by a judge in a lower court. The higher court, which may be called a court of appeals, appellate court, or supreme court, for example, looks at the “record,” which includes the transcript, evidence, and documents from the trial court, and decides if the judge made any mistakes of law. You cannot introduce new evidence when you appeal your case to a higher court. The higher court only looks at what was said and done in the trial court.

Usually, you only have a short time to file an appeal after the judge issues the order or decision you want to appeal. The time limit may be different depending on what state you live in and what type of case you want to appeal. You may want to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible about the time limit in your state so that you do not lose your chance to appeal. You can find more information about getting a lawyer at Do I need a lawyer to appeal my case?

Do I need a lawyer to appeal my case?

It is possible to file an appeal on your own, but it is generally a complicated procedure with technical rules of law. It is hard to do without a lawyer. If you do decide to file an appeal on your own, you may want to talk to a lawyer for advice as you plan your strategy. For legal help, you can go to our Finding a Lawyer page, although you may have to call many places to find one that does appeals.

There is also an organization called DV LEAP, which takes civil appeal cases involving domestic violence or child abuse. This generally includes restraining orders, custody, divorce, or other civil cases. You can see their application form on the DV LEAP website. For other appeals organizations, please see our National Organizations - Appeals page.