The Court’s Decision

After both sides have filed all their briefs and had oral argument (or the date for oral argument passes, if everyone waives oral argument), the case is "submitted." If there is no oral argument, the case is submitted at the same time as if it oral argument had taken place. That is why asking for oral argument does not delay the case.

After the case is submitted, the court does not accept any more information about the case. The judges have 90 days from the date the case is submitted to decide the appeal. The clerk of the court will mail you a notice of that decision.

The appellate court's decision will become final in 30 days unless any of the parties disagrees with the opinion and files a certain kind of petition. If that happens, the court's opinion is not yet final. If you disagree with the court's opinion, click to see what you can do for options after losing an appeal.

After the appellate court decision is final
The court will issue a "remittitur." A remittitur provides notice that the court’s decision is final and the appeal is over, and says if any party is allowed to recover some of the costs from the appeal. It also returns jurisdiction (legal power over the case) to the trial court so the lower court can follow up on what, if anything, still needs to be done to carry out the decision or decisions made by the appellate court.