court of appeals

noun phrase

often capitalized C&A
: a court hearing appeals from the decisions of lower courts

called also court of appeal

Examples of court of appeals in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After he was arrested by Indiana State Police in November, Noel was released from jail a day later on a $75,000 bond set by Judge Larry Medlock, who was appointed by the court of appeals. Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 1 Feb. 2024 But the panel imposed a rule designed to discourage Mr. Trump from making an intermediate challenge to the full court of appeals. Charlie Savage, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 The court of appeal said its ruling was not inconsistent with a 2021 federal trial court holding that an employer was not responsible for reimbursing stay-at-home employees for the cost of masks and hand sanitizer. Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2023 After the high court, there is the court of appeal and then the Kenya Supreme Court. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2024 On Thursday, the court of appeals in Chiang Rai found Mr. Mongkhon guilty of 11 more counts of violating the royal criticism law and added 22 years to his sentence, according to Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, the advocacy lead at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2024 The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals ruling. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 14 Dec. 2023 Some judges already find AI ‘jolly useful’ despite accuracy concerns The new guidance comes three months after a UK court of appeal judge Lord Justice Birss used ChatGPT to provide a summary of an area of law and then used part of that summary to write a verdict. Popular Science, 13 Dec. 2023 Triumphing over foreign enemies was part of it, but so were maintaining buildings, providing disaster relief, responding to petitions, serving as a final court of appeal, and more. Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'court of appeals.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of court of appeals was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near court of appeals

Cite this Entry

“Court of appeals.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/court%20of%20appeals. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

court of appeals

often capitalized C&A
: a court hearing appeals from the decisions of lower courts: as
a
: an intermediate court of the U.S. federal judicial system
b
: a state appellate court

called also court of appeal

Note: Not all of the states have intermediate-level courts but of those that do, many are called the Court of Appeals or, in California and Louisiana, the Court of Appeal. In Hawaii, such a court is called the Intermediate Court of Appeals. In some states, appeals are divided between a court of criminal appeals and a court of civil appeals. In the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York the court of last resort is called the Court of Appeals, and the intermediate court in Maryland is called the Court of Special Appeals. In West Virginia the court of last resort is called the Supreme Court of Appeals. In England the Court of Appeal is a division of the Supreme Court of Judicature.

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