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The FindLaw Legal Dictionary -- free access to over 8260 definitions of legal terms. Search for a definition or browse our legal glossaries.

term:

Appeal

appeal n

[Old French apel, from apeler to call, accuse, appeal, from Latin appellare]
: a proceeding in which a case is brought before a higher court for review of a lower court's judgment for the purpose of convincing the higher court that the lower court's judgment was incorrect
;also
: a proceeding for the review of an agency decision at a higher level within the agency or in a court see also affirm compare certiorari, new trial, rehearing NOTE: The scope of an appeal is limited. The higher court will review only matters that were objected to or argued in the lower court during the trial. No new evidence can be presented on appeal.
ap·peal·abil·i·ty [ə-pē-lə-bi-lə-tē]
n

ap·peal·able [ə-pē-lə-bəl]
adj

vt : to take (a lower court's decision) before a higher court for review
: undertake an appeal of (a case)
vi
: to take a lower court's decision to a higher court for review



Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

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