Intermediate Appellate Courts

State Intermediate Appellate Courts are mid-level appellate tribunals within a state judicial system, created to review decisions from trial courts and relieve the caseload of the state’s highest court. Not all states have them; in smaller or less populous states, appeals go directly from trial courts to the state supreme court. Where they exist, these courts—commonly called Courts of Appeal or Appellate Divisions—exercise mandatory jurisdiction over most properly filed appeals, meaning they must hear and decide the cases brought before them. Their function is not to re-try cases or hear new evidence but to evaluate alleged legal or procedural errors, interpret statutes and constitutional provisions, and ensure uniform application of the law across trial courts within the state. Panels of multiple judges, rather than a single judge, decide cases, and their published opinions carry precedential authority binding on lower courts in the jurisdiction. Selection methods for judges vary by state, including appointment, partisan or nonpartisan elections, or merit-based systems, with fixed terms or renewable appointments depending on state law. Decisions of intermediate appellate courts are subject to discretionary review by the state supreme court, which selects cases of broad legal importance, conflict, or constitutional significance. As such, state intermediate appellate courts play a vital structural role in maintaining judicial consistency, filtering the volume of cases, and ensuring that trial-level adjudication conforms to the state and federal constitutions, statutes, and precedents.