1. CheckPoint: Trial and Appellate Courts

• Write a 200- to 300-word response answering Discussion Question 1 on p. 488 in The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System.

How are appellate courts different from trial courts? How do the functions, roles, and outcomes of appellate courts set them apart from trial courts?

Appellate courts differ from trial courts in various ways. Trial courts find the facts of a case and decide how the law applies in the particular case—this is done on both state and federal levels. Evidence and witnesses are presented and a judge or a jury makes a decision based on the evidence. Appellate courts examine claims where the law was incorrectly applied or where legal procedures were not followed properly. No new evidence is presented but the judge reviews the materials from the trial and decide if the lower court was correct in their judgment. The appeals process is aimed to ensure that a defendant received due process at prior stages of the criminal justice process and it pursues legal goals in the case. Appeals are an important part of the criminal justice system because they are a means to address legal issues under the basis of stare decisis; where precedent is respected in the law but legal societal and technological changes bring new issues to the courts. Legal questions often arise from such issues and become the subject of appeals. The appellate court then produces a holding that contributes to legal precedent on the issue. The court’s holding gives the decision along with the case facts and the judicial reasoning surrounding the decision.
Trial courts focus on the facts of a case and follow procedures in determining guilt and proper sentencing for an individual case. Trial courts produce decisions that bind only those involved in the specific case whereas appellate courts make decisions that serve as precedent that binds all