Courts of Appeal
- The courts of appeal are divided into 12 judicial circuits.
- Each serves at least two states.
- Each usually has a panel of three judges.
- These courts do not look for guilt or innocence in a case; look to correct errors that may have been made when trying a case at the district level.
- Have the power to review all final decisions of district courts and also hear and enforce the appeals of many federal regulatory agencies.
- Decisions on the cases they hear are made by majority vote of the three judges.
- There is the special court of appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals. Composed of 12 judges. Hear appeals in certain cases such as those regarding patents, claims against the United States, and international trade.
- Focus on correcting errors in procedures of law that may have happened at the lower levels during a legal case.
- This level holds no trials and does not use juries.