State Court of Appeals Judge

The Basics

Every state has what’s called an intermediate appellate court – this is a court that hears appeals of cases from lower-level courts. They sit in the middle of the court system (that’s why they’re called intermediate), because they’re at a higher level than trial courts, which is where cases are heard for the first time, but lower than the state’s Supreme Court. This means that the decision of a Court of Appeals isn’t always the final word on a case, because it could be appealed again to the state’s Supreme Court. A few states have two separate Appeals Courts, one for civil cases and one for criminal cases, but in most states there’s just one Appeals Court that hears both.

Appeals courts have a specific job to do, and that’s to decide whether there were any legal errors in a trial that might have affected the outcome. That can mean a lot of different things – a law being misapplied or misinterpreted, misconduct by a previous judge or one of the attorneys involved, bias affecting the jury proceedings, or something else. Because they’re focused on what happened in the trial itself, they don’t usually hear evidence or call witnesses. But sometimes, in criminal cases especially, a case will be appealed because new evidence has emerged, and the job of the appeals court is to decide whether there should be a new trial to include that evidence.

Because being a judge requires specialized legal knowledge, most states have strict requirements around who can run for these offices. Usually, to run for a judgeship a candidate needs to be a practicing attorney with a minimum number of years of experience; most states require anyone running for a Court of Appeals seat to have been a judge for a minimum number of years.

The way states choose their Court of Appeals judges varies a lot. Some states have their Governor choose judges initially, then give voters the opportunity to vote on whether to keep the judge on the Court or not. This is called a ‘retention election.’ Other states hold more traditional elections with multiple candidates for each office, sometimes with party primaries and sometimes with everyone running at once without party affiliations. Finally, some states allow every voter to vote on every judge, while others break up the state into districts and elect one judge from each district.

Note: Some states name their courts a little differently. In NY, for example, the highest-level court, which serves the same functions as a State Supreme Court, is called the Court of Appeals, and the lowest-level trial courts are called Supreme Courts. Click on your state to see the specifics for where you live.

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Source: United States Courts on the differences between federal and state courts. For more details on the importance of state courts, check out these explainers from State Court Report, a project of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice

What have Court of Appeals Judges done?

Most cases don’t go all the way up to your state’s Supreme Court, so the decisions of the Court of Appeals can make changes in your community, and even across the state. Here are just a few that have made a big impact:

  • State v. Hall
    Kansas
    The Court upheld the state’s ban on gun possession for people convicted of certain felonies, arguing that the right to bear arms can be balanced with public safety concerns
  • Moe v. Yost
    Ohio
    The Court struck down Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, arguing that it violated the state constitution’s “health care freedom” amendment and the rights of parents

How does it work in my state?

Scroll down and click on your state to learn more about the specifics of a State Court of Appeals Judge’s powers and responsibilities where you live. (If your state isn’t here yet, check back often – we’re adding more info all the time. If your state doesn’t elect judges, it won’t appear here.)

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