Bartlesville Appellate/Appeals Attorney

Appellate law is the process of appealing a case to a higher court, after you have lost in a lower court. Appellate law can be one of the most complicated, and difficult areas of law to navigate. The Persaud Law Office practices in Oklahoma appeals courts. If you have a case in Oklahoma appeals courts, the Persaud Law Office can assist you. If you are an attorney in a case in appeals court, the Persaud Law Office can work with you as co-counsel and help you through the complex maze.

In general, in Oklahoma, almost all cases start in district court. Each of the 77 counties in Oklahoma has one district court. If a party loses a case in district court, the losing party can, in general, appeal the case to a higher court. To see which types of court orders you may appeal, read my blog post here.

In Oklahoma, there is one procedure for appealing criminal cases, and a different
procedure for appealing civil cases.

Oklahoma Criminal Appeals

If the case is criminal, the defendant may appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The state may also appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, but only in a very limited number of circumstances. Click here to see a list of the circumstances in which the state may appeal to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

After an appeal is made to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals will hear and decide the case. If the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals believes the district court decided the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will affirm the district court decision, and the district court’s decision will stand. If the Court of Criminal Appeals believes that the district court did not decide the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will reverse the district court decision, and send the case back to the district court.

Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions Are Final

If a decision made by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals concerns state law only, the decision is final, and cannot be appealed to any other court.

However, if a decision of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals raises an issue of federal law, then the losing party may file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review any federal issues decided by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (but cannot decide issues of state law.) No decision of the United States Supreme Court, on any issue, may be appealed to any other court.

Oklahoma Criminal Appeals Process

Oklahoma Civil Appeals

If the case is civil, the losing party may appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Oklahoma Supreme Court may then take one of two possible courses of action: 1) the Oklahoma Supreme Court may assign the case to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, or 2) the Oklahoma Supreme Court may retain the case and choose to hear it.

Cases assigned to the Court of Civil Appeals

The vast majority of Oklahoma Supreme Court cases are assigned to the Court of Civil Appeals. After the Supreme Court assigns a case to the Court of Civil Appeals, the Court of Civil Appeals will then hear the case and render a decision. If the Court of Civil Appeals believes the district court decided the case correctly, the Court of Civil Appeals will affirm the district court decision, and the district court’s decision will stand. If the Court of Civil Appeals believes that the district court did not decide the case correctly, the Court of Civil Appeals will reverse the district court decision, and send the case back to the district court.

After the Court of Civil Appeals renders its decision, the losing party may petition the Oklahoma Supreme Court for certiorari. If the Oklahoma Supreme Court decides that there are “special and important” reasons for granting certiorari, then the Oklahoma Supreme Court may grant certiorari. If the Oklahoma Supreme Court grants certiorari, then the Supreme Court will hear the case, and will then either affirm or reverse the decision of the Court of Civil Appeals.

Cases retained by the Oklahoma Supreme Court

If the Oklahoma Supreme Court retains a case appealed from district court, the Supreme Court will hear the case itself, and the case will never go through the Court of Civil Appeals. After hearing the case, if the Supreme Court believes the district court decided the case correctly, the Supreme Court will affirm the district court decision, and the district court’s decision will stand. If the Supreme Court believes that the district court did not decide the case correctly, the Supreme Court will reverse the district court decision, and send the case back to the district court.

Oklahoma Supreme Court decisions are final

If a decision made by the Oklahoma Supreme Court concerns state law only, the decision is final, and cannot be appealed to any other court.

However, if a decision of the Oklahoma Supreme Court raises an issue of federal law, then the losing party may file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review any federal issues decided by the Oklahoma Supreme Court (but cannot decide issues of state law.) No decision of the United States Supreme Court, on any issue, may be appealed to any other court.

Oklahoma Civil Appeals Process

Municipal (City) Court Appeals

Municipal, or city courts, are courts of city governments. A municipal court is only allowed to hear criminal and traffic prosecutions arising out of violations of city ordinances of the city in which the court is established.

There are two types of municipal courts in Oklahoma:

Municipal courts “not of record”
Municipal courts “of record.”

In Oklahoma, there are currently only two cities that have municipal courts “of record”: Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. The municipal courts in all other cities in Oklahoma, are municipal courts “not of record.”

There is a different appellate procedure for appeals from municipal courts “not of record” and for municipal courts “of record.”

For municipal courts not of record, the appellate procedure is as follows:

The defendant may appeal an adverse judgment from a municipal court of record to the district court in the county where the municipal court is located. The city may not appeal a case from a municipal court not of record.

After an appeal is made from a municipal court to a district court, the district court will hear and decide the case. If the district court believes the municipal court decided the case correctly, the district court will affirm the municipal court decision, and the municipal court decision will stand. If the district court believes the municipal court did not decide the case correctly, the district court will reverse the municipal court decision.

The defendant may appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The city may also appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, but only in a very limited number of circumstances. Click here to see a list of the circumstances in which the city may appeal to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

After an appeal is made to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals will hear and decide the case. If the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals believes the district court decided the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will affirm the district court decision, and the district court’s decision will stand. If the Court of Criminal Appeals believes that the district court did not decide the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will reverse the district court decision, and send the case back to the district court.

If a decision made by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals concerns state law only, the decision is final, and cannot be appealed to any other court.

However, if a decision of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals raises an issue of federal law, then the losing party may file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review any federal issues decided by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (but cannot decide issues of state law.) No decision of the United States Supreme Court, on any issue, may be appealed to any other court.

Oklahoma Municipal Appeals Process

(Courts not of Record)

For municipal courts of record, the appellate procedure is as follows:

The defendant may appeal an adverse ruling from the municipal court directly to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The case does not go through district court. The city may also appeal an adverse ruling from the municipal court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, but only in a very limited number of circumstances. Click here to see a list of the circumstances in which the city may appeal to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. If the city appeals, the case is also appealed directly from the municipal court to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals; the case does not go through district court.

After an appeal is made to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals will hear and decide the case. If the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals believes the municipal court decided the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will affirm the municipal court decision, and the municipal court’s decision will stand. If the Court of Criminal Appeals believes that the municipal court did not decide the case correctly, the Court of Criminal Appeals will reverse the municipal court decision, and send the case back to the municipal court.

If a decision made by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals concerns state law only, the decision is final, and cannot be appealed to any other court.

However, if a decision of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals raises an issue of federal law, then the losing party may file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review any federal issues decided by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (but cannot decide issues of state law.) No decision of the United States Supreme Court, on any issue, may be appealed to any other court.

Oklahoma Municipal Appeals Process

(Courts of Record)

Because municipal courts may only hear criminal cases, and not civil cases, appeals from municipal courts are not heard in the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, or in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Appeals From Other Oklahoma Tribunals

Cases may be appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, from the Corporation Commission, the Worker’s Compensation Court, the Board for Property or Casualty Rates, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Court of Tax Review, the Banking Board, the Banking Commissioner, or from the wording of a ballot title prepared by the Attorney General. The procedural rules are different in each type of appeal. Because these cases are not as common as cases appealed from District Courts, the rules for appeal will not be discussed here. It would be wise to consult an attorney in connection with these types of appeals.

Appeals From Rulings of Oklahoma Administrative Agencies

If a party loses in a proceeding before an Oklahoma administrative agency, the procedures for the appeal are determined by the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act, and by the rules specific to the administrative agency in which the case is heard. Because Oklahoma has a very large number of administrative agencies that exercise judicial decision-making power, it is beyond the scope of this site to discuss the procedures for appealing cases in each state administrative agency. Many of the rules for specific agencies may be found here. It would be wise to consult an attorney in connection with these types of appeals.