How to Appeal a Judgment Without an Attorney -
How to Appeal a Judgment Without an Attorney
f you have lost a case in civil court, you can challenge the court's decision through an appeal.Basically, you are asking a higher court to review the case and determine if the judge applied the law correctly. Appeals are complicated, but with work and attention to detail, it can be done without an attorney. However, someone filing a pro se (Latin for "for yourself") appeal must use the same procedures and meet the same standards as attorneys.
Understand the requirements for an appeal. In order to appeal a trial court's decision, you must be able to answer yes to all of the following questions:
First, are you a person who can appeal the trial court's decision?To answer yes, you must have been a party to the case at the trial stage.[You cannot appeal on behalf of someone else, for example a friend or relative.
Second, can the decision in your case be appealed?To answer yes, the trial court must have issued a final judgment. The final judgment is the decision at the end of your case that decides everything.It will usually tell you or the other party what they have to do.You cannot appeal decisions made before the final judgment; you must wait to appeal these issues once the final judgment has been issued.
Third, do you have time for an appeal? To answer yes, you must be able to draft and file your notice of appeal within a certain deadline. If you fail to file your notice of appeal before the deadline, your case will be dismissed and you will not be able to appeal. In California, the deadline to file your notice of appeal varies depending on the type of case you have. For example, if you are a part of a civil case involving an amount less than $25,000, you must file your notice by either:
30 days after you have been notified of the judgment; or
90 days after the entry of the judgment, whichever is sooner.
2-Read the judge's ruling. If you answered yes to all three questions, you have the right to appeal. However, before you appeal, you must find a valid reason to do so. Read through the judge's ruling and identify the reasons the judge ruled the way he or she did.
Appellate courts can only look at whether the trial court made a legal error and whether that legal error changed the final decision in the case.
For example, an appeal might look at whether a trial court judge applied the wrong law to your set of facts.
Appellate courts do not offer new trials and you will not be able to present any new evidence.
3 Review your evidence. If you think you have found a legal error in the judge's ruling, look through your evidence to see whether you can back up your claim. Because you will not be able to introduce any new evidence, you need to make sure you can prove the error with the record you created at the trial level.
For example, if you think the judge gave incorrect and harmful jury instructions to the jury, find the judge's statement of the instructions in the trial record.
4 Consider the cost of an appeal. Between the filing fees, court fees, fees for getting materials to the appeals court, and fees for consulting an attorney, filing an appeal can be very expensive.
An appeal also takes up a lot of time. You will be doing lots of legal research, writing a legal brief, and preparing to argue in front of the court.
An appeal can also cause stress on you and your loved ones, and can extend the litigation for many years in some cases.
Appellate court costs typically exceed those of the trial court. For example, in California filing a notice of appeal costs $775. It is not unusual for court transcripts to exceed $1,000. Some states have fee waivers in civil cases for individuals with low incomes (most notably California). If you received a fee waiver for your trial court case you should be eligible for one in the appeals courts.
1 Find a notice of appeal form. A notice of appeal is the piece of paper you file with the trial court in order to notify that court and the other party that you plan on appealing.Most courts will have a form available online for you to fill out. For example, in California, the notice of appeal form can be found online and can be printed and filled out at home
2 Draft your notice of appeal. The notice of appeal is a straightforward document and does not require any legal knowledge. In general, the notice for will ask for the following information:
The name of the court that issued the judgment you are appealing;
The trial court case number and case name;
Your personal information;
Whether this is a first appeal or some other appeal;
3 The judgment you are appealing; and
Whether you are asking for a copy of the record
Make at least two copies of your notice. Before moving forward, be sure you make a copy of the notice for yourself and another copy to serve on the other party. The original notice of appeal will be for the court.
4 Serve the notice on the other party. Take one of the copies you made and serve it on the other party, either in person or through the mail.If you are having your notice served in person, you must have someone other than yourself complete the task. You can ask the sheriff or a private server to do so. If you are serving the other party through the mail, send it to that party's residence, place of business, and to their attorney (if they have one).
5 File the notice of appeal. Once the other party has been served, you will file the original notice of appeal, along with proof of service, to the court clerk. The clerk will look over your documents and stamp them as "filed."
When you file your notice of appeal, you will be required to pay a filing fee.The filing fee in California can be as much as $775.00. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you can ask the court for a waiver.If you already obtained a fee waiver for your fees associated with your case at the trial level, simply include that fee waiver with the notice of appeal and your fees will be waived