appeals and preclusion Flashcards
appellate courts
In most instances, a party wishing to appeal a district court order must appeal to the Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the district court sits.
If a party wants to appeal a Court of Appeals order or judgment, the only avenue for appeal is to the United States Supreme Court.
-The Supreme Court is not obliged to hear any appeals; it hears appeals at its discretion.
appellate jurisdiction
federal circuit court jurisdiction is limited, can only review:
- final judgment: there are no facts left for the court to address.
- orders pertaining to preliminary injunctive relief
-Can immediately appeal a district court order granting or denying a preliminary injunction. - order pertaining to certification of a class
-granting or denying class action certification
-discretion to decide whether to allow that appeal. - order that has been certified by the district court and appellate court for appeals
-May immediately appeal an order that has been “certified” if 3 conditions are met:
(1) Order involves a controlling question of law;
(2) Issue of law is one on which there is substantial difference of opinion; and
(3)Immediate appeal will materially advance the ultimate resolution of the action.
4.***A collateral order, the collateral order doctrine
-Allowed when 3 conditions are met:
(1) Order pertains to a matter unrelated to the merits (hence “collateral”);
(2) Order conclusively decides a particular issue; AND
(3) Delaying appeal until a final judgment has issued would effectively deny appellate review of the issue.
appellate standard of review
- questions of law
- questions of fact
- Inherently Discretionary Questions
Questions of law
When an appellant claims that a lower court made an error in its assessment of the law.
-Reviewed de novo – no deference to the lower court, and addresses the legal issue as if it has never been addressed.
Questions of fact
When an appellant claims that the lower court—whether acting through the judge or the jury—made a mistake on a factual matter.
-Court will affirm unless clearly erroneous.
– the only inquiry is if the fact finder made a “clearly erroneous” mistake of fact.
–High standard – rarely overturn lower court findings of fact.
Inherently Discretionary Questions
The abuse of discretion standard applies.
If the appellant is arguing about trial court decision that was discretionary at the time, the appellate court reviews it as abuse of discretion.
Appellate review: Harmless error rule*
May affirm if there was error but it did not affect the result.
waiver of appellate review**
A party can’t seek relief on appeal if it failed to challenge the decision at the time the lower court made it.
appellate procedure
*must file notice of appeal within 30 days of the judgment
(or within 30 days of the order that is the subject of the appeal).
Exception: Where the appeal is on class certification, the party only has 14 days.
If a post-trial motion has been filed, and it is denied:
*a new 30-day period beings to run from the date of the denial.
If a motion for new trial or relief from judgment is granted:
the judgment is no longer final and no appeal is permissible unless the order can be certified or characterized as a collateral order.
Claim preclusion (res judicata)
Bars claimants from relitigating a case they already lost.
elements:
- same parties (as prior case)
- claim arises from same transaction or occurrence; AND
- valid final judgment on the merits
-Final judgment = a court order that resolves the entire case in favor of either the P or the D.
-Valid = the court had PJ over the defendant.
-On the merits = involved an inquiry into the merits of the plaintiff’s claim.
A judgment is not on the merits if it’s a dismissal for lack of PJ, SMJ, or venue.
A dismissal with prejudice = on the merits.
claim preclusion: relationship to compulsory counterclaim rule
If the defendant fails to bring a compulsory counterclaim in the first suit, they are precluded from filing it as a plaintiff in a later suit.
issue preclusion (collateral estoppel)
Bars re-litigation of issues even with different parties.
elements:
- The issue must have been litigated and determined in the prior suit;
- The issue must have been essential to the judgment;
-Essential = If decided the opposite way it would it have changed the result of the case. - The prior suit must have ended in a judgment on the merits; AND
- The party against whom preclusion is asserted must have had a full and fair opportunity, as well as incentive, to litigate the issue in the first suit.
(the party who you are using issue preclusion against needs to be in the first suit)
special verdicts and issue preclusion
Special verdicts are very helpful to parties asserting issue preclusion because they explicitly define the issue, how it was decided, and (often) its essentiality to the judgment.
Issue preclusion can be used without special verdicts, but it is often easier to make the argument when the first case relied on them.
defensive issue preclusion
when used as a defense to a claim
(ex. driver’s negligence was already litigated in a suit for vicarious liability)
writ of habeas corpus
The writ is a cause of action alleging that the prisoner’s confinement is in violation of his rights under the Fifth, Eighth, or Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
a prisoner may bring a writ of habeas corpus in federal court within one year of the conclusion of direct review by the state courts.
the prisoner must exhaust all available state remedies before applying for a writ.
Lack of a fair and impartial trial due to misconduct by the prosecutor or ineffective assistance of counsel is a violation of prisoners’ rights under the Due Process Clause and is therefore proper grounds for a writ of habeas corpus.
