Resources to assist attorneys litigating a civil appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. This Toolkit includes guidance on commencing the appeal, preparing the briefs and record excerpts, making motions, and presenting oral argument to the court.
When litigating a civil action in federal district court, a party generally has the right to appeal to a federal court of appeals (also known as a circuit court) from a final order or judgment that awards relief against it or denies some of the relief it sought (28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 1295; see Forney v. Apfel, 524 U.S. 266, 271 (1998)). An aggrieved party normally also has the right to appeal from certain types of interlocutory (nonfinal) orders, such as orders granting or denying injunctions (28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)).
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit hears most appeals from federal district courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin (28 U.S.C. §§ 41 and 1294). This Toolkit contains resources explaining the process for litigating civil appeals in the Seventh Circuit, including: