Appellate Practice Reminder

• Publication year: 2011
• Pages: 41
• Citation: Vol. 80 No. 4 Pg. 41

Appellate Practice Reminder No. 80 J. Kan. Bar Assn 4, 41 (2011) Kansas Bar Journal April, 2011

Appellate Practice Reminder...

From the Appellate Court Clerk's Office

The Importance of Checking Appellate Jurisdiction

An attorney who files an appeal must master the principles of appellate jurisdiction, if only to the extent of determining whether jurisdiction exists in the individual appeal. The right to appeal in Kansas is statutory, and the attorney should be able to cite appropriate statutory provisions to establish jurisdiction. There are few more discouraging events in the practice of law than to have fully briefed an appeal and arrive at oral argument to discover that the court wants to talk about jurisdiction.

Choose the Right Court: Most appeals are filed in the Court of Appeals, and it is not fatal jurisdictionally if an attorney files an appeal in the wrong court. The docketing clerk in the Appellate Clerk's Office will attempt to steer the attorney toward the right court. And there are means to transfer a case from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court if the case is erroneously docketed in the Court of Appeals.

Timing is Everything: Know the statutory provision setting the time in which to appeal. Be aware that appeal times may vary, depending on the type of action. And the appellate courts will be checking jurisdiction through every level of appeal if the case began in an...