Appellate Division

Appeals from the federal trial courts in our District are to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which sits in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This Court reviews appeals from the federal trial courts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, and Ohio. 

Appeals represent a distinct form of advocacy.  Appellate courts generally do not take evidence or adjudicate facts.  Instead, they consider discrete legal and factual issues arising out of a party's challenge to an order or judgment of a trial court.  Appellate lawyers review the records of those proceedings, prepare written arguments, and, at the discretion of the Court of Appeals, argue their case in person.  Appellate decisions that are designated for publication in a federal reporter are precedential and govern the disposition of subsequent cases involving the same issue that arise in the federal trial courts within the Sixth Circuit.

Our Office’s appellate work typically involves a wide variety of criminal and civil issues, including appeals involving convictions of all classes of criminal offenses and resulting sentences, as well as appeals involving civil claims brought against or by the federal government in our District.

Charles P. Wisdom Jr. is the Chief of the Appellate Division.