FAQs

An appeal is not not a “do-over” of trial. You aren’t presenting new witnesses or flashy “surprise” evidence; instead, you’re asking a higher court to review the existing record for specific legal errors.

The clock starts immediately. You typically have 30 days from the final judgment to file a notice of appeal. Missing this window is usually a “game over” scenario.

After you file a notice of appeal, you will also need to file a docketing statement and transcript request to make sure you have a complete record.

Next comes the heavy lifting: briefing. This is where your legal team, like The Appellate Group, crafts written arguments to convince a panel of judges. Due to recent legislation in 2026, there are now seven supreme court justices and nine court of appeals judges. Generally, the full panel of the supreme court decides cases. In the court of appeals, a case is decided by a panel of three judges.

After potential oral arguments, where attorneys answer the court’s toughest questions, the judges issue a written opinion. This usually takes many months. The court may affirm the original result, reverse it, or “remand” it back to the trial court to fix the errors.

At the Appellate Group, we handle the technicalities so you can focus on what’s next.

Winning an appeal in Utah doesn’t usually end with a trophy and a closing file; it usually ends with a remand.

When you win, the appellate court will reverse or vacate the lower court’s ruling. This effectively “undoes” the legal error, but it rarely settles the entire case. Instead, the judges send the case back to the trial court with specific instructions. Depending on the error, this could mean a brand-new trial, a resentencing, or a mandate for the trial judge to reconsider specific evidence they previously ignored.

Essentially, an appellate victory resets the board to fix the mistakes of the past. It’s not always the finish line, but it is a powerful second chance at justice.

In the Utah Court of Appeals, each side typically has 15 minutes to present arguments. In the Utah Supreme Court, each side gets 20 minutes. The appellant speaks first and usually reserves a few minutes for a final rebuttal. However, as long as the justices/judges are asking questions, the party may go over time to directly respond to the questions.

The court will not issue a ruling from the bench. A written opinion is usually published months later.

Utah appellate courts generally require parties to raise issues first in the trial court. An issue is preserved when it is presented to the trial court in a manner that gives the court an opportunity to rule on the issue. To provide that opportunity, the issue must be raised timely, specifically, and with evidence or relevant legal authority.

Utah Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a) requires a party’s brief to include a citation to showing where the issue was preserved or the grounds for reviewing an unpreserved issue.

There are limited exceptions for preservation including: plain error, ineffective assistance of counsel, and exceptional circumstances.