Attorney Cullen McKinney is currently a partner with the law firm Tanoury, Nauts, McKinney, and Dwaihy (TNMD). Based in Detroit, Michigan, Cullen McKinney and TNMD have a great deal of experience litigating in the appellate court system.
An appellate court is also known as a court of appeals. An appeal occurs when a ruling is made in a court case, but the plaintiff or defendant disagrees with the outcome. They can choose to file an appeal to the judge or jury’s original decision, which sends the case to be heard by different judges in the appellate court system.
Appellate courts determine if the previous lower court applied the law correctly during the original case. These courts differ from the lower court system, as appellate courts use a panel of judges and do not involve a jury of one’s peers.
Appellate courts exist at the state and federal level. Individual states have varying numbers of courts, but there are only 13 appellate courts at the federal level. An unsuccessful appeal at the appellate level can be further appealed and sent to the Supreme Court, though this is reserved only for unique cases that are accepted into this highest court system.
