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The need for expanded appellate capacity was first recognized in 1971. The report[1] of the Virginia Court System Study Commission, composed of distinguished legislators and members of the bench and bar, recommended a reorganization plan for a unified court system. The commission, chaired by former Chief Justice Lawrence W. I'Anson, recognized the need for an intermediate appellate court in Virginia which would absorb the bulk of review of circuit court appeals, while preserving the Supreme Court as a single body concentrating on the development of the law.[2]
In 1978, a comprehensive study of the Virginia court system conducted by the National Center for State Courts also recommended that the appellate capacity of the Virginia courts be increased by creating an intermediate Court of Appeals.[3] In 1982, the Judicial Council of Virginia proposed legislation for a twelve judge intermediate appellate court. Finally, in 1983, the General Assembly created the Court of Appeals of Virginia, effective January 1, 1985. E. Ballard Baker was the first chief judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.[2]
Since the establishment of the Court of Appeals, appellate capacity has increased 38.8%. The number of petitions acted upon has risen each year, achieving the desired goal of increasing appellate capacity in the court system.[2]
In March 2021, legislation was passed to expand the Court from 11 judges to 17 judges.[4] Effective, July 1, 2021, the Court of Appeals consists of seventeen judges who are elected for eight-year terms by a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly.[5]
Judges
The Court of Appeals consists of 17 judges who are elected for eight-year terms by a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly.[5] If a vacancy occurs while the General Assembly is not in session, the Governor may appoint a successor to serve until thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the legislature. In addition to the seventeen active judges, the Court of Appeals may designate seven retired judges of the Court to serve as senior judges.[5]
The judges of the Court of Appeals elect the chief judge by majority vote to serve a fouryear term. A master schedule approved by the chief judge designates where the Court of Appeals will sit for oral arguments to provide convenient local access to the public. The Court sits in locations throughout the Commonwealth.[5]
The clerk of the Court of Appeals receives, processes and maintains permanent records of appeals and other official documents filed with the Court.[5]
Panels
The Court of Appeals sits en banc (or as a whole) in the following circumstances:
Where there is a dissent in a panel to which a case was originally assigned, and an aggrieved party requests an en banc hearing and at least six other judges of the Court vote in favor of such a hearing;[5]
If a judge of a panel certifies that a decision of that panel conflicts with a previous decision of the Court or of any panel and five other judges agree;[5] or
In any case in which a majority of the Court, on the petition of any party or upon its own motion, determines it is appropriate to sit en banc.[5]
Under these conditions, the Court of Appeals convenes en banc and reconsiders the case. The court sitting en banc may override any previous decision of a panel or the full Court. No fewer than thirteen judges may be present when Court of Appeals sits en banc.[5]
Jurisdiction
The Court of Appeals has authority to hear appeals as a matter of right from:
any final judgment, order, or decree of a circuit court;[5]
any final order of conviction in a traffic or a criminal matter;[5]
any final decision of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission;[5]
any final decision of a circuit court on appeal from a decision of an administrative agency or a grievance hearing decision;[5]
any final decision of a circuit court on an application for a concealed weapon permit;[5]
any final order of a circuit court involving involuntary medical or mental health treatment of prisoners;[5] and
any final order for declaratory or injunctive relief addressing whether a person’s free exercise of religion has been burdened by the Commonwealth or local government[5]
The Court of Appeals has authority to consider petitions for appeal from:
certain preliminary rulings in felony cases when requested by the Commonwealth;[5]
any order of consolidation or joinder in a case brought under the Multiple Claimants Litigation Act.[5]
The Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition and habeas corpus in any case over which the Court would have appellate jurisdiction.[5]
In addition, the Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction to issue writs of actual innocence based on non-biological evidence upon petition of a person who has been convicted of a felony.[5]
Reforms effective January 2022
As part of a comprehensive reform bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into law in March 2021, the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals expanded on January 1, 2022, as follows:
Litigants can now appeal as of right a lower court's decision in civil cases, and the Supreme Court of Virginia will retain the power to select which appeals it hears.
Criminal defendants can now appeal as of right a lower court's decision in criminal cases, but the Commonwealth will still need to petition the Court of Appeals if it wishes to appeal a decision in a criminal case.
The Court of Appeals now has jurisdiction to hear interlocutory appeals and petitions for review of injunctions.[6]
An appeal filed with the Supreme Court of Virginia before January 1, 2022, remains under its jurisdiction.[6]
Procedure
Most appeals are heard as a matter of right. Appeals of right are cases that an appellate court must review as required by statute. These cases do not go through the petition process. The parties in each case file their respective briefs and the clerk of the Court refers the case to a panel of three judges for consideration. Oral argument is permitted but may be waived.[5]
Other appeals are brought before the Court of Appeals through a petition process requiring a formal written application to the Court requesting judicial action on a certain matter. Petitions are required for any Commonwealth’s pre-trial appeal of a criminal case pursuant to Code § 17.1-406(A), interlocutory appeals, and certain other cases.[5]
Each petition for appeal is referred to a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals. The panel may grant the petition based on the record, without oral argument. In a pre-trial appeal of a criminal case, the Commonwealth may provide a panel of judges with the reasons why an appeal should be granted. If the judges of the panel agree the petition should not be granted, the order denying the appeal will state the reasons for denial and the case ends. If the panel grants the petition for appeal, the case proceeds in the same manner as an appeal of right case.[5]
The Court of Appeals issues decisions by written opinion or order.[5]
A party may petition for rehearing of a final decision or order disposing of a case. The petition may request rehearing by a panel or en banc. If a petition requesting rehearing by a panel is granted it will be heard, where practicable, by the same panel that rendered the final decision in the case.[5]
Since January 1, 2022, when the court's jurisdiction expanded, most appeals are initiated by filing a notice of appeal and related documents with the clerk of the Court of Appeals.[6]
Decisions are issued by the Court of Appeals by written opinion or order.[2]
Certification
In any case in which an appeal has been taken to the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court may certify the case for review by the Supreme Court before it has been decided by the Court of Appeals. A certification transfers jurisdiction over the case to the Supreme Court for all purposes. These certifications occur only when the case is of such public importance that it requires a prompt decision by the Supreme Court or when the docket of the Court of Appeals is congested, and expeditious administration of justice requires the transfer.[5]
Finality of decisions
When the Court of Appeals has rejected a petition for appeal, dismissed an appeal, or decided on an appeal, its decision is final, without appeal to the Supreme Court in the following cases:
Appeals in criminal cases pursuant to subsections A or E of Code § 19.2-398 and § 19.2-401. But the finality of the Court of Appeals’ pre-trial decision does not preclude a defendant, if he or she is convicted, from requesting the Court of Appeals to reconsider the issue on direct appeal;[5]
Appeals involving involuntary treatment of prisoners pursuant to Code § 53.1-40.1 or § 53.1-133.04;[5] or
Appeals involving denial of a concealed handgun permit pursuant to Code § 18.2-308.08.[5]
Notwithstanding the finality of these cases, if the Supreme Court determines on a petition for review that the decision of the Court of Appeals involves a substantial constitutional question as a determinative issue or matters of significant precedential value, review may be had in the Supreme Court.[2]
Review by the Supreme Court of Virginia
Except where the decisions of the Court of Appeals are final, any party aggrieved by a final decision of the Court of Appeals may petition the Supreme Court for an appeal.[5]
United States appellate procedure involves the rules and regulations for filing appeals in state courts and federal courts. The nature of an appeal can vary greatly depending on the type of case and the rules of the court in the jurisdiction where the case was prosecuted. There are many types of standard of review for appeals, such as de novo and abuse of discretion. However, most appeals begin when a party files a petition for review to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision.
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. They hear appeals of cases from the United States district courts and some U.S. administrative agencies, and their decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The courts of appeals are divided into 13 "Circuits". Eleven of the circuits are numbered "First" through "Eleventh" and cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals from the U.S. district courts within their borders. The District of Columbia Circuit covers only Washington, DC. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from federal courts across the United States in cases involving certain specialized areas of law.
In law, an en banc session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeals in which each case is heard by a three-judge panel instead of the entire court, en banc review is usually used only for unusually complex or important cases or when the court believes there is an especially significant issue at stake. En banc is a French phrase meaning "in bench".
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis. The term of the Court begins the second Monday of September. The Court is unique among American courts in that the justices wear red robes.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The court was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals, and it has been the court of last resort for matters of D.C. local law since 1970. The court is located in the former District of Columbia City Hall building at Judiciary Square. The D.C. Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia comprise the District of Columbia's court system.
The district courts of appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Florida state court system. There are currently six DCAs:
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that are initially appealed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Established in 1779 as the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Virginia is one of the oldest continuously active judicial bodies in the United States.
An interlocutory appeal occurs when a ruling by a trial court is appealed while other aspects of the case are still proceeding. The rules governing how and when interlocutory appeals may be taken vary by jurisdiction.
The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. The latter are taken directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort for criminal matters in the State of Texas. The highest court for civil and juvenile matters is the Texas Supreme Court. While the Supreme Court (SCOTX) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) each have nine members per the Texas Constitution, the sizes of the intermediate courts of appeals are set by statute and vary greatly, depending on historical case filings and so that the justices on each court can timely adjudicate the volume of cases regularly before them. The total number of intermediate appellate court seats currently stands at 80, ranging from three, four, six, seven, nine, and thirteen (Dallas) per court.
In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel.
The Court of Appeals is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appeals "reviews not only the decisions and orders of the Regional Trial Courts awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of, or authorized by administrative agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions mentioned in Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, plus the National Amnesty Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman". Under Republic Act No. 9282, which elevated the Court of Tax Appeals to the same level of the Court of Appeals, en banc decisions of the Court of Tax Appeals are subject to review by the Supreme Court instead of the Court of Appeals. Added to the formidable list are the decisions and resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission which are now initially reviewable by the Court of Appeals, instead of a direct recourse to the Supreme Court, via petition for certiorari under Rule 65.
The Georgia Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Georgia. The court is a single entity with 15 judges. The judges are assigned into five divisions of three judges each, with the assignments changed annually. Cases are randomly assigned to one of the divisions, with the constraint that the number of active cases in each division is kept close to equal. Its courtroom is on the second floor of the Nathan Deal Judicial Center.
The Colorado Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was initially established by statute in 1891 and was reestablished in its current form in 1970 by the Colorado General Assembly under Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Colorado.
The South Carolina Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of South Carolina.
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and interpreting law. Although appellate courts have existed for thousands of years, common law countries did not incorporate an affirmative right to appeal into their jurisprudence until the 19th century.
The Judiciary of Virginia is defined under the Constitution and law of Virginia and is composed of the Supreme Court of Virginia and subordinate courts, including the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts, and the General District Courts. Its administration is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Council, the Committee on District Courts, the Judicial Conferences, the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, and various other offices and officers.
Whitewood v. Wolf is the federal lawsuit that successfully challenged the Pennsylvania Marriage Laws, as amended in 1996 to ban same-sex marriage. The district court's decision in May 2014 held that the Marriage Laws violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Same-sex couples immediately sought and received marriage licenses and the decision was not appealed. One county clerk sought repeatedly without success to intervene to defend the law.
Microsoft Corp. v. United States, known on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as United States v. Microsoft Corp., 584 U.S. ___, 138 S. Ct. 1186 (2018), was a data privacy case involving the extraterritoriality of law enforcement seeking electronic data under the 1986 Stored Communications Act (SCA), Title II of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), in light of modern computing and Internet technologies such as data centers and cloud storage.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the intermediate appellate court in West Virginia, created pursuant to the West Virginia Appellate Reorganization Act of 2021.
References
↑ Report of the Court System Study Commission to The Governor and The General Assembly of Virginia, Virginia House Document No. 6 (1972 Regular Session) (1971)
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