Contrast the roles of trial and appellate courts

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Most courts are trial courts. This is where trials are held, jurors are sworn, and witnesses are questioned. Trial courts are divided into major and lower courts. In lower courts, minor offenses are tried in front of a judge and the initial stages of felony cases—first appearance, arraignment, probable cause hearings—are held. Major trial courts handle the final phases of felony prosecutions, whether the defendant enters a guilty plea or takes the case to trial. Upon conviction, the defendant is sentenced.

Appellate courts review the decisions made by trial courts when issues are raised on appeal. In appellate courts, lawyers argue whether previous decisions correctly or incorrectly followed the law. Appellate review is not a trial. No witnesses are questioned and no jurors are called upon to render a decision.

There are two levels of appellate courts at both the state and federal level: intermediate courts, which must hear all cases, and supreme courts, which pick and choose which cases they hear. The ultimate appellate court in the U. S. is the U. S. Supreme Court.