FEDERAL APPEALS

FEDERAL APPEALS

Federal Appeals – Criminal and Civil

The attorneys at Bradford Ladner LLP are seasoned and experience Federal appeals attorneys. Both William Bradford and Amber Ladner have prosecuted Federal appeals for numerous clients, representing them before Federal appellate judges on important issues of criminal and civil law.

A Federal appeal is one of the most complicated and exacting cases for an appellate attorney. The rules of appellate procedure in a Federal appeal are rigid and rigorously enforced by the Federal courts.

A Federal appeal heard in Federal Circuit Court. An appeal is very different than a case in a Federal District Court. In a trial in a Federal District Court, witnesses give testimony and a judge or jury decides he case; who is guilty or not guilty or who is liable or not liable. The Federal appeals courts do not retry cases or hear new evidence. They do not hear witnesses testify. There is no jury. Federal appellate courts review the procedures and the decisions in the district court to make sure that the proceedings were fair and that the proper law was applied correctly.

There are 13 Federal appellate courts in the United States. The Federal circuit courts of appeal are above the Federal district courts and below the U.S. Supreme Court. There are 94 federal judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a court of appeals. The appellate court’s task is to determine whether or not the law was applied correctly in the trial court. A Federal court of appeals hears challenges to district court decisions from courts located within its circuit, as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies. The Federal Appeals courts are divided in to 11 circuits plus a Federal Circuit, and a Circuit Court for the District of Columbia. Each of the Federal circuits hears appeals from the district courts in its geographic area (map of federal circuits).

The states handled by the various Federal circuit courts of appeals are as follows:

The attorneys at Bradford Ladner LLP handle federal appeals in all Federal Circuits nationwide.

THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FEDERAL APPEALS COURT

A Federal appeal arising in Alabama is heard by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Federal Appeals was established by Congress in 1981. The Court has jurisdiction over federal cases originating in the states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. These states have a combined total of nine district courts. Each state is divided into districts designated the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Federal Appeals is one of the busiest federal appellate courts in the United States. Currently the Court has twelve authorized judgeships.

Approximately three-fourths of the court’s cases are decided on the briefs submitted by the parties. The remaining cases include oral argument. Oral arguments are held in at the main Court building in Atlanta, Georgia, and in local Federal Court Buildings in Jacksonville and Miami, Florida as well as in Montgomery, Alabama.

EXPERIENCED REPRESENTATION

The attorneys at Bradford Ladner LLP have enjoyed the privilege of presenting oral arguments to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Federal Appeals on numerous occasions in both criminal and civil Federal Appeals. Many resulted in written opinions by the court on important issues of law. The following is a sampling of the cases in which Bradford and Ladner have appeared as counsel.

Lindley v. Birmingham, City of Alabama, 652 F. App’x 801 (11th Cir. 2016)
United States v. Dotson, 660 F. App’x 757 (11th Cir. 2016)
Pugh v. El Paso Corp. Pension Plan, 617 F. App’x 964 (11th Cir. 2015)
United States v. Mays, 424 F. App’x 830 (11th Cir. 2011)
Lindley v. City of Birmingham, Ala., 452 F. App’x 878 (11th Cir. 2011)
United States v. McDavid, 368 F. App’x 61 (11th Cir. 2010)
U.S. v. Bryant, 334 Fed.Appx. 259, 2009 WL 1740072, (11th Cir. 2009)
Moore v. Cullman County Com’n, 2006 WL 952276 (11th Cir.2006)
U.S. v. Naves, 252 F.3d 1166 (11th Cir, 2001)
U.S. v. Jones, 52 F.3d 924 (11th Cir. 1995)

If you need assistance appealing a federal criminal or civil case, please call Bradford Ladner LLP. We will be happy to discuss your situation and assist you. We handle Federal Appeals nationwide in all Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. Please call or email us today: