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appeals court

appeals court

52 4.4
A court that reviews and decides on cases from lower courts
  • noun
  • /əˈpilz kɔrt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tribunal de apelación
  • Last week, a federal appeals court decided to uphold the US TikTok ban.
  • a federal appeals court
  • cases before the appeals court
  • an appeals court judge

Last week, a federal appeals court decided to uphold the US TikTok ban.

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Examples

  • The federal appeals court ruled that the evidence was insufficient to uphold the original conviction.

  • She is asking the appeals court to refuse to consider Trump's appeal on her disqualification.

  • The people on the appeals court serve also for life.

  • At trial, there were two legal questions for the Appeals court to answer.

  • The appeals court said the jury was right.

  • Replacement law was struck down by a federal appeals court in 2002.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Ultimately, a U.S. district court judge and a federal appeals court rejected the challenge to the CMP.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The trial court sided with the HMO, but an appeals court reversed.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Accordingly, the appeals court saw no bar to affirming the district court's contempt declaration.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Shortly afterwards, Böhnhardt was sentenced to two years by the appeals court.

Synonyms

superior court
vsappeals court
  • Specialized
42 5.3

A court that hears appeals and serious trials

focuses on reviewing lower decisions rather than handling wide general jurisdiction
appellate court
vsappeals court
  • Specialized
21 7.4

A court that reviews and can change decisions of lower courts

performs the same review role without implying any special judicial body
court of appeals
vsappeals court
  • Formal
18 5.0

A group of judges who review and can change decisions from lower courts

is the general body that reviews and decides on lower court rulings
circuit court of appeals
vsappeals court
  • Formal
1 5.7

A federal court that reviews cases from lower courts in a group of states

is a broader review body not limited to a single federal region

How Official

supreme court
12 3.2
appeals court
  • Specialized
52 4.4
court of law
76 3.2
tribunal
  • Formal
84 7.4
administrative law
  • Specialized
4 5.3
mediation
41 4.2
backroom meeting
  • Literature
7.1

Surface Forms

appeals court singular

Morphology

appeal + court

The meaning 'a court that reviews appeals' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'appeal' (a request for review) + 'court' (a forum that decides cases). This compound/nominal modifier pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Appeals court comes from the idea of asking a higher court to 'look again' at a decision: appeals means to ask for a 'look again' and court is the place that decides. So, an appeals court is a court that 'reviews' lower court decisions and can change them.