How are cases selected for review by an appellate court?

Cases selected for review by an appellate court in Kansas are known as "certified questions." These are questions of law that are presented to the court for review. A judge or group of judges at the lower court level will certify the question when they are uncertain of the legal outcome, if any, of the pending case. When a question is certified, the court must answer it in the form of an opinion. When a trial court judge certifies a question, they send it to the appellate court for review. The appellate court then reviews the question and decides whether to accept the case or not. A case may be accepted if the question raises an important issue of law or if it’s likely to lead to a different decision than the trial court. In addition to questions certified by trial court judges, the appellate court may accept cases from appeals filed directly by litigants. These are known as “original proceedings.” In such cases, the appellate court must review the trial court’s decisions to determine if they are legally correct. The appellate court may also choose to review cases sua sponte. This means that the court may choose to review a case without being asked to do so. This typically happens when a court believes a case raises an important issue of law or is likely to lead to a different decision than the trial court.

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How are cases selected for review by an appellate court?

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