What cases do appellate courts have jurisdiction over?

Appellate courts primarily have jurisdiction over appeals. This means they review decisions made by lower courts to ensure that the law was applied correctly and that proper legal procedures were followed. Appellate courts do not conduct trials or hear new evidence; instead, they focus on whether legal errors occurred in the previous proceedings that could affect the outcome of the case.

The role of appellate courts is to evaluate if the legal standards were met and if the rights of the parties involved were protected during the original trial. They typically handle cases that have already been adjudicated in lower courts, making appeals the central focus of their jurisdiction. This is distinct from original cases, which are heard for the first time in trial courts, and from federal or state cases, which can be within the realm of appellate review but do not specifically define the unique function of appellate courts to handle appeals from lower court rulings.