To appeal a court case means to ask a higher court to review a decision made by a judge in a lower court because you believe the judge made a mistake. The losing party in a decision by a trial court in the federal courts is normally entitled to appeal the decision to a federal court of appeals. An appeal is not another trial, but an opportunity for the defendant to try to raise specific errors that might have occurred at trial. The appeals court will look at the evidence that was presented to the trial court to decide whether some legal error was made. Depending on what the appeals court decides, it can set aside, confirm, or modify the trial court’s judgment and could even order a new trial. However, an appeal does not allow you to re-do your trial, and you cannot introduce new evidence when you appeal your case to a higher court. The party appealing is called the appellant, or sometimes the petitioner, while the other party is the appellee or the respondent. The appeal is instituted with the filing of a notice of appeal, and the party appealing must file a brief, a written argument containing that sides view of the facts and the legal arguments upon which they rely in seeking a reversal of the trial court. The appellee then has a specified time to file an answering brief. Appeals are decided by panels of three judges working together. If the appeals court affirms the lower courts judgment, the case ends, unless the losing party appeals to a higher court.