Section 2.1 Introduction

• Library: App Ct Prac 2015 Supp

I. (§2.1) Introduction

The appellate process is often a minefield of procedural traps for the unwary. Failure to comply with the rules may divest the appellate court of jurisdiction. In these circumstances, no matter how meritorious the appeal, the appellate court must dismiss it.

Under Missouri law, an appeal is purely a creature of statute. If the statute confers no right to appeal, there can be no appeal. Farinella v. Croft, 922 S.W.2d 755, 756 (Mo. banc 1996). For appeals in civil cases, the most important statute is § 512.020, RSMo 2000, which provides in pertinent part:

Any party to a suit aggrieved by any judgment of any trial court in any civil cause from which an appeal is not prohibited by the constitution, nor...