Appellate Section
Welcome to the ENRD, Appellate Section. The Appellate Section's work involves cases arising under the more than 200 statutes for which the Division has litigation responsibility. Section attorneys:
- brief and argue appeals in all thirteen federal circuit courts of appeals around the country, as well as in state courts of appeals and supreme courts;
- handle appeals in all cases tried in the lower courts by any of the sections within the Division;
- oversee or handle directly appeals in cases within the Division's jurisdiction that were tried in the lower courts by U.S. Attorney Offices; and
- are responsible for petitions for review filed directly in the courts of appeals in environmental or natural resource cases involving the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Surface Transportation Board.
The Section also works closely with Justice's Office of the Solicitor General, making recommendations whether to appeal adverse district court decisions or to seek Supreme Court review of adverse appellate decisions. The Section writes draft briefs for the Solicitor General in Division cases before the Supreme Court.
The Appellate Section was one of the original six sections created when the “Lands Division,” as it was then called, was divided into sections in 1937. Click here on the following link for a history of the Appellate Section:
