Deck 13: Appeals

Question 1

If you were going to organize a system for appealing cases, which aspects of the current system would you keep and which aspects would you eliminate Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Appeals, it is that device of law any person who has been aggrieved from the order pronounced by the court of law, pertaining to the facts of the case. An appeal lies in the court of law only when the person seeking justice has not received that. This is general in nature that the case goes in the court when the parties to suit are adamant in nature and do not want to settle down the case prior to the trial.
For an instance, there is a suit to damages between person A B, the person A said to B that he is ready to pay all the necessary damages and everything for the loss that have caused to him by the acts of A. But B did not agreed to that thing and went to the court just in order to have the more than compensation. As in his petition mentions that, the act of A has caused mental agony to the B.
The system of appeals is beneficial when the person who has suffered the loss, has actually faced the real damages, or it can be said that the person has actually faced the damages in real, and in such cases the state court of law has not adjudicated the case in the sufficient manner which has resulted into the party dissatisfaction and then the aggrieved party goes for the appeal in the higher court of jurisdiction.
If I am to organize a system for the appeals and related things of it, then I would eliminate that part in which the cause if very pity or the case in which the facts are not that materialistic. The appeals should be filed only for the genuine and true to the facts cases, this is because this kind of situation misleads the judicial system of any state or country which in later period becomes the habit of the people. Hence elimination of fraud or misleading facts would be of great benefit to the system of appeals.

Question 2

According to the court, are sanctions proper against the plaintiffs for the manner in which they have brought their appeal

Answer 2

The plaintiff in person brought the appeal to the court for the wrongful act committed against them. The wrongful act was considered wrongful to them as per their considerations only. On the initiation of the proceedings in the court it is presumed that an individual must follow all the rules and regulations in the substantial manner.
Sanction is an award like substance in the law. Sanction is provided to the individual against whom the wrongful act has taken place. In general meaning sanctions means that a compensation or damage to the victim. Sanction is given in order to prevent the future happening of the wrongful act. It can also be said as penalty for disobeying law or rule.
In this case, Evans v centre stone development co, (35 Cal. Rptr. 3d 745(2005), the court has granted the appropriate sanctions. The sanctions granted in to the plaintiff were granted on the ground that -
• There were many violations of the rules of the court.
• The sanctions were not substantial in nature.
• All the mentioning's were contrary to the rules mentioned.
The plaintiff brought their appeal in such a manner that they were the victim but on the recovery of the facts and evidence in the proceedings all the events happened were lawful in nature. Hence the appeal made was frivolous and vague. Hence the court ordered the sanction to the plaintiff (appellant) and not to the defendant.

Question 3

What is a motion for new trial

Answer 3

In a civil case, during the final stages of the trial, the jury decides on a verdict based on the instructions of the judges and the arguments and evidences presented by both the parties.
After the verdict of the jury is decided, the judge officially enters it in the court records as a judgment of the findings. This is the official judgment of the case and the trial concludes at this stage.
However, at this stage, the party in whose favor the judgment is not given has an option to either appeal to a higher court or to plead for a motion for new trial.
Once the judgment of the case has been laid out by the judges officially, the aggrieved party may request a motion for a new trial. If this application is granted, there is no need for the aggrieved party to file an appeal to the higher court.
If the motion for new trial is accepted by the court, then the existing judgment given in the case stands cancelled and the parties' rights and liabilities revert back to the pretrial stage.
All the proceedings held in the trial stand negated and the parties prepare for fresh proceedings. However, the witnesses, evidences and documents for the new proceedings remain the same.
The reason for granting this motion is to correct a legal error or to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice. Thus, the aggrieved party must prove in the court that the jury made its verdict on the basis of insufficient evidence or made a gross error of law which would hinder impartial justice.
This motion is usually granted by the courts on rare occasions. Usually, the courts deny this request, unless a gross error is proved, and the aggrieved party has to file an appeal to the appellate court.
The aggrieved party should file a petition for motion for new trial as it reserves their right to present the same arguments before the appellate court. Thus, the concerned party must file this motion and if it is not granted then an appeal may be filed in the appellate court.

Question 4

List the basic components that an appellate brief contains.

Question 5

Danny recently lost his case against his ex-wife. He had alleged that she had, on several occasions, slandered him by reporting him to the police. Apparently, Danny has been stalking his ex-wife for several months and has been arrested on more than one occasion. Danny's ex-wife moved for summary judgment on his action for slander, and the motion was granted. Danny filed a proper motion for new trial that was denied. To protest, Danny wrote his appellate brief to the state court of appeals on tissue paper. Will the court consider the merits of Danny's appeal?

Question 6

What is the basic purpose of a statement of facts in an appellate brief

Question 7

ACROSS
4 The appellate court requires additional information or an evidentiary hearing because it cannot conduct such a hearing itself. The case is temporarily transferred to the trial court for a hearing and then resent to the appellate court.
7 A motion made by the party who lost at the trial court level; this motion requests a new trial on specific grounds; if denied, it triggers the appellate process.
9 Person bringing the current appeal from an adverse ruling in the court below.
DOWN
1 (Lat.) "stand by the decision"; the principle that appellate courts will follow clearly established precedents in their decisions.
2 The power of an appellate court to decide which cases it will hear.
3 The person who won in the lower court.
4 The entire body of evidence, witness transcripts, pleadings, motions, discovery materials, and any other material admitted during the trial.
5 The power of a court to make rulings.
6 A request to an appellate court that it assume jurisdiction in the case and docket the case for an appeal.
8 To _________ a lower court's decision is to set it aside.
9 The appellate court's final decision supports the decision made by the lower court.

Question 8

What is an enumeration of error

Question 9

How did the arbitration agreement factor into the contested issues

Question 10

What is an oral argument

Question 11

What are some reasons for and against certiorari

Question 12

The chapter suggests that appellate courts have limited powers. Explain.

Question 13

Explain the basis of appellate jurisdiction.

Question 14

What is the difference between affirming and reversing an appeal

Question 15

According to the court, what is the public policy with regard to court participation in arbitration agreements

Question 16

What is the purpose of a remand

Question 17

Are there some types of cases in which appeals should not be allowed Why or why not

Question 18

Explain the organization of state courts.

Question 19

What is a notice of appeal

Question 20

What is certiorari

Question 21

What does the court have to say about the plaintiffs' references to the arbitration rules in their brief

Question 22

What is the basis for granting or denying certiorari

Question 23

What is the appellate record

Question 24

What types of cases do not have certiorari requirements

Question 25

Based on the jury verdict form provided in the Baker case (Appendix B), prepare a motion for a new trial on the defendant's behalf.

Question 26

How do the plaintiffs violate the court's rules about presenting arguments in their brief

Question 27

What is the name of the highest court in the United States

Question 28

Create a brief bank. If your firm does not already have a brief bank, perhaps you should create one. A brief bank is an archive of the appellate briefs filed in previous cases that can be quickly and easily retrieved. There are many issues in appeals that recur over and over again. Why reinvent the wheel each time, when you can rely on previous research and writing to minimize the time it takes to create a new brief? In the old days, paralegals would make hard copies of appellate briefs and then file them according to subject or put appellate subjects on index cards to help retrieve the brief later. These days, most paralegals keep brief banks on a computer. After all, the briefs are almost always created using a word processing program like Word® or WordPerfect®. Why not use this same system to create a brief bank?
Each argument section of old briefs can be pulled out and indexed separately. The subjects could be saved on the computer hard drive (and on a back-up floppy or CD) as follows:
• Appeal: Waiver of issue by failure to object at trial.
• Evidence: Demonstrative.
• Appeal: Failure to conform to appellate rules.
• Witnesses: Unavailable for trial.
• Cert: Petition for cert to state supreme court.
• Witnesses: Expert witness in auto reconstruction.
• Cert: Petition for cert to U.S. Supreme Court.
• Witnesses: Expert witness in medical standard of care.
• Evidence: Hearsay exceptions.
Prepare the basic formulation of a brief bank by reviewing recent decisions from your state's highest appellate court. Choose
topics related to civil litigation, including evidence law, expert witnesses, pleadings, and motions, to name a few.

Question 29

What is an appeal

Question 30

What is the purpose of the federal circuit courts

Question 31

Explain the possible rulings that an appellate court can make in a case.

Question 32

What does the court have to say about the poor organization and presentation of the plaintiffs' brief

Question 33

What is a brief bank

Question 34

What were the underlying issues in this case

Question 35

What is a brief