appellate

adjective ap·pel·late \ ə-ˈpe-lət \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

: of, relating to, or recognizing appeals; specifically : having the power to review the judgment of another tribunal

an appellate court

See appellate defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of appellate from the Web

Another 45 district court nominees and 10 appellate court nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation.

— salvador rizzo, Washington Post, "Two Trump speeches, two dozen dubious claims," 9 Apr. 2018
California law specifically allows the public to use recording devices at such meetings, but the commission's meeting in August was held at a federal appellate court building where filming is prohibited.

— victoria kim, latimes.com, "How an anti-illegal immigration YouTuber turned a $280 fine into a federal criminal trial," 7 Apr. 2018
Joining Mesereau on the defense team are former federal prosecutor Kathleen Bliss, appellate expert Becky S. James, and Montgomery County attorney Lane Vines.

— jeremy roebuck, Philly.com, "Bill Cosby's retrial: Everything you need to know," 6 Apr. 2018
Abbott’s successor, Ken Paxton, inherited the litigation the following year as the case made its way through the appellate process at the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

— alexa ura, star-telegram, "Texas voting rights litigation spotlights Greg Abbott’s role | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 21 Jan. 2018
Moot court competitions simulate appellate court proceedings, with students working in teams to answer questions directly from a panel of judges.

— valerie sweeten, Houston Chronicle, "South Texas College of Law Houston — real life experiences," 31 Mar. 2018
This dissent could embolden the state to pursue an appeal to the higher appellate court, which would then rehear arguments made at the lower appellate and circuit courts.

— aja romano, Vox, "Serial’s Adnan Syed just won an important court victory that puts him closer to walking free," 29 Mar. 2018
When the court granted Manning's request to have the jury instructed on second-degree murder, it was based on both an unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense and the provocation of mutual combat, according to the appellate court record.

— hannah leone, Aurora Beacon-News, "St. Charles carnival worker still guilty in fatal 2008 stabbing, state Supreme Court says," 23 Mar. 2018
The appellate majority also found that the lower district court's order denying summary judgment was not reviewable following a full trial on the case's merits.

— colin stutz, Billboard, "The 'Blurred Lines' Appeal Failed -- Now What?," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'appellate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of appellate

Latin appellatus, past participle of appellare to appeal to

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First Known Use: 1765

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APPELLATE Defined for English Language Learners

appellate

adjective

law : having the power to review and change the decisions of a lower court

Law Dictionary

appellate

adjective ap·pel·late \ ə-ˈpe-lət \

: of or relating to appeals or the power to hear appeals

the appellate process

an appellate court

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See words that rhyme with appellate Britannica English: Translation of appellate for Arabic speakers

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