court of appeals

noun phrase

variants often Court of Appeals

: 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

This primary is held to narrow down candidates for local, nonpartisan offices such as court of appeals judges and school board members. —Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 3 Nov. 2025

The court of appeal held Sanders’s conduct was not work-related. —Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025

On Wednesday, the state court of appeals in Los Angeles affirmed the lower court’s ruling and awarded Bronshteyn’s legal team nearly $5 million in attorney fees, noting that the state’s insistence on fighting the case was partially to blame for the hefty cost to taxpayers. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 19 Sep. 2025

Allen argued to the court of appeals the evidence as a whole does not prove the requisite mental state — and the judges agreed. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 19 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for court of appeals

• automobiles
• abeles
• conceals
• flywheels
• ideals
• newsreels
• ordeals
• repeals
• reveals
• beals
• deals
• eels

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.