APPEALS

This office will represent you in your Appeal in all New York State Appellate Divisions or in the Court of Appeals though any appeal we handle are limited to our specific practice areas of the law listed on the Home page and would also include any Medical Malpractice appeal.  

In New York State, unlike almost all other states, the Supreme Court is the "trial Court". Up from the Supreme Court is the New York State Appellate Division. There are four (4)Appellate Divisions in New York State which are divided into four (4) separate departments depending solely on their geographic location (1st Dept. New York City; 2nd Dept. Brooklyn' 3rd Dept. Albany and 4th Dept. Rochester). Up from the Appellate Divisions is the Court of Appeals which is the highest Court in New York State and located in Albany.

All law suits filed in Supreme Court are given an index number and may be eventually assigned to a particular Judge for discovery purposes before any trial. After all discovery is completed, the case is placed upon a general trial calendar waiting to be assigned a specific "trial judge". If a jury is demanded, and the trial part assigns a trial judge the lawyers for all parties will select a jury and try the case before that judge. 

While the initial Judge or the trial judge is present to make sure the law is properly applied to all phases of your case and at any trial, sometimes, like us all, the initial or trial judge will make a mistake(s) in applying the law to the facts and circumstances of your case. This is exactly "why" there are Appeal Courts. 

A Judge may also commit mistake(s) while it decides motions made by any party or in conducting or denying you an "evidentiary hearing" on a particular legal issue that you may be entitled to have. You may be able to appeal those mistakes to Appeal's Court.

The grounds for an appeal from the Supreme Court action to the Appellate Divisions or to the Court of Appeals are way too numerous to list here! The basic rule, however, is the particular mistake had to change the course of your case and impact the result.

What you do need to know is that there are "very strict time frames" which must be complied with by you to timely file a Notice of Appeal in your case. Once that is done, there is another specific time frame for you to actually "perfect" your appeal by creating "an appeal record" of the relevant proceeding(s) that took place in the lower Court and filing your brief. The other side then has a specific time frame for them to file their brief in response to your brief. There is yet another specific time frame for you to file any "reply" brief which addresses only issues raised by the other side's brief.

Once everything is timely filed by all sides, and "if" oral argument(s) was requested in their respective brief(s), the Appeals Court will place the matter on its calendar for oral argument before it. The time frame from oral argument to the final written decision varies in each Appeal Court.

Generally speaking, and without going through all the possible exceptions, an appeal from the Appellate Division up to the Court of Appeals requires that a "Motion for Permission and Leave to Appeal" be timely made and filed by you. Unless the Court of Appeals "grants" the motion they will not hear the appeal and the lower Court's Order and Decision will remain "in full force and effect". If the Court does grant your motion for leave and permission to appeal to them there are strict specific time frames that must be followed by you somewhat similar to the process described above.  

If you or a loved one has had a recent case involving a Lawyer; Medical Malpractice; Serious Injury because of an accident including the Wrongful Death of a loved and you want to appeal that case because of errors or mistakes and perceived by you to have been committed by the lower Court, your best course of action to have this office potentially represent you in your appeal is to call either of the phone numbers on the Home page so we can "talk" about your particular situation. Remember, there isn't any forgiveness for you not timely filing a Notice of Appeal and/or failing complying with the other times frames in your particular appeal. 

The materials contained in this website are for information purposes only and not meant to be, and should not ever be construed by you, as legal advice. Viewing  this website is not intended to nor does it ever create any attorney-client  relationship. Our practice and all information on this website is limited to the laws of the State of New York. This is attorney advertising.