Appellate court

An appellate court is like a big-kid court that hears arguments from two other 'little-kid' courts, called trial courts. Trial courts are where people go to settle arguments and disagreements. But sometimes, the people who lose in a trial court think that the decision was unfair or wrong.

That's where the appellate court comes in. The appellate court looks at the decision made in the trial court and considers whether it was fair and followed the rules. It looks at the evidence that was presented and the reasons for the decision, and decides whether the decision was right or whether the trial court made a mistake that needs to be fixed.

The appellate court can either affirm the decision, which means it agrees with the trial court, or it can reverse the decision, which means the trial court was wrong and the decision needs to be changed. Sometimes, the appellate court might ask the trial court to take another look at the case with new instructions or information.

Like a big-kid court, the appellate court has judges who are very knowledgeable about the law and they work together to decide what's fair and legal. But even big kids make mistakes, so the appellate court is there to help make sure that everyone gets a fair shot at justice.