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

But a court of appeal overturned the ruling, meaning the four men must remain in Romania until their trial. —Louis Mian, CNN, 16 July 2024

The Guardian reported that Lee’s testimony was not admitted by the court of appeal, with judges ruling that Letby’s attorney’s could have called him during the trial and that the skin discoloration was not the only piece of evidence used by witnesses to indicate an embolism. —Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 14 July 2024

For a blues singer faces death and destruction squarely; there is no cosmic court of appeals for such things. —David Polansky, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 July 2024

Marshall said Pollard is considering challenging his conviction in a court of appeals. —Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

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.