nals annual education conference october 3, 2014 the appellate process
TRANSCRIPT
NALS ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCEOCTOBER 3 , 2014
The Appellate Process
Goal: Error Correction
Why?
Fairness FinalityNoticeHarmConfidence
Goal: Uniformity
Rules of decision-makingResolution of conflicts
Appellate Architecture
The Circuit Courts of Appeals
Texas Appellate Districts
Jurisdiction: the power of the court
Exclusively FederalAdmiraltyAntitrust (Federal)BankruptcyCopyrightFederal CrimesPatentsSuits against the U.S.Immigration
Exclusively StateAnything not
federal
Concurrent:Federal questionsDiversity of citizenship
Original v. Appellate
Original Jurisdiction:Courts with the authority to hear the case for the first time (the trial courts).
Appellate Jurisdiction:
Authority to review a trial court’s decision (usually after a final judgment).
The Mechanics
To preserve an error for appeal, the record must show an objection in the trial court that is:
TimelyDefinitiveRuled upon
Timely
Raise an objection contemporaneously with the error it challenges.
Courts follow the Kung Fu Panda rule:
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”
Not definitive enough
Ruled Upon
Must obtain a ruling – either “expressly or implicitly”.
Ask: Was my objection understood? See Phillips v. Bramlett, 288 S.W.3d 876, 883 (Tex. 2009) (objection waived where trial court’s response showed that it didn’t understand the objection and counsel did not attempt to clarify it.).
Definitive
The objection must be specific enough “to make the trial court aware of the complaint.”
Unless: the grounds for the objection are “apparent from the context.”
The Record
Appellate Briefs
Appellate Briefs
Oral Argument
Opinions of the Court
NALS ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCEOCTOBER 3 , 2014
Thank you.