Appellate Court

A court having jurisdiction to hear appeals and review a lower court's decisions.

The appellate court is the court with the authority to hear and decide an appeal. An appellate court is said to possess the "jurisdiction" to handle the appeal, though the jurisdiction, or power to hear the appeal, is granted to the court by the State Constitution and the Delaware Code. One must "perfect" an appeal in order for the appellate court to be able to review the decision of the court being appealed from. Perfection of an appeal requires that the proper steps be taken to allow the appellate court to hear the case, such as filing the notice of appeal within the proper amount of time, as set forth by Statute and/or court rule.