Any party who loses a civil trial (bench or jury) has the right to appeal. Trials and appeals are expensive and laden with emotion. That said, we often receive inquiries from “appellees” when they find out the losing party is taking an appeal.1 These calls all focus on what really happens if they do not file an appellee’s brief. Clearly, the winner in the trial court does not have to file an Appellee’s Brief. This blog explores the ... Read More
15
May2020
30
Apr2020
In Indiana, there are thousands and thousands of trials and hearings each year. For litigants who lose on the merits in civil or criminal litigation, there are roughly 3,000 appeals taken to the Indiana Court of Appeals.1 This is Indiana’s intermediate appellate court. The entire appellate process is laborious for the lawyers who handle appeals and time-consuming for the Court because three judges are assigned to review every case. As might be expected, there are comprehensive rules to ensure efficiency and consistency ... Read More
14
Jul2016
In all criminal convictions (sentencing) and civil judgments (final orders), the non-prevailing litigant has an automatic right to appeal. Most appeals go to the Indiana Court of Appeals. With a criminal conviction at the time of sentencing, a defendant who believes he has been wrongfully convicted or received an excess sentence should most always appeal. This blog explores the two key reasons for seeking such an appeal, even in a case such as a revocation of probation.
First, failure to seek an appeal ... Read More
05
Jul2016
As a general rule, the final order of Indiana trial courts has the right to appeal. Most are taken to the Indiana Court of Appeals. A few appeals proceed directly to the Indiana Supreme Court. In this blog post, three types of matters that cannot normally be taken up on appeal are discussed as this creates significant confusion for some litigants.
The first are interlocutory orders. During the trial process a judge may make dozens or hundreds of orders to ... Read More
16
Apr2015
As a general component of human nature, almost every litigant who has lost a case in a trial court believes the trial court incorrectly decided the matter. No one wants to be “wrong,” but Indiana’s trial court are charged with being open to litigants to freely administer justice and decide cases. Every case has an appeal of right to the Indiana Court of Appeals, if not the Indiana Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, most trial court decisions are not appealed. Presumably, this is because the losing party concedes ... Read More