Appeals

 

 

 

       You do not have to accept your judge's decision. You may appeal your case.  If you believe your judge made a mistake, if you believe that the outcome of your case was unfair, you have a right to take your case to a higher court.  Decisions in Divorce, and in any Family Court case, can be appealed. All trial courts have another court which oversees what they do. The New York court system has an Appellate Division, which breaks the State into four Departments.  The Long Island courts, including Queens, Brooklyn and also Staten Island,  are overseen by the Second Department of the Appellate Division, located in Brooklyn. Several Counties north of New York City are also part of the Second Department that meets in Brooklyn: Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam.  The Bronx and Manhattan comprise the First Department, which meets in Manhattan.  Decisions by the Appellate Divisions can also be appealed to a higher court. The "highest" court in New York  is called the "Court of Appeals" located in Albany. The Court of Appeals has authority over all of the State Courts of New York.

       All divorce and family law cases can be appealed. Almost all decisions in divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, equitable distribution, orders of protection, etc., are subject to review by the appellate court.

       Please note: it is vitally important that you begin your appeal quickly. If you are going to appeal your decision, you must file the first document in the appeal, the "Notice of Appeal," within weeks of service of  your judges decision, if you miss this deadline, your appeal will be rejected, no matter how unfair the decision was. To detemine the time period within which you are eligible to appeal, contact a lawyer immediately.

 

       The court hearing your appeal does not conduct a new trial, there is no "do over" of your trial.  The appelate court reviews the documents and transcripts from your trial. The transcript is the written record of what was said by the judge, lawyers, and witnesses at your trial. The transcript is prepared by the court reporter from your trial, that is the person you may have seen typing everything that was said. If the decision you seek to appeal was made by the judge without a trial,  no trial transcript is required. A written argument, called a "brief" is also filed on your behalf.  You do not testify to the court during the appeal, the court may hear an "oral argument" in which your brief is explained  and the judges ask your lawyer questions about your case.