Indiana Appeals

Although most appeals are direct appeals, there are other types of appeals in the appellate courts of Indiana. Each general category of Indiana appeals is described below.

Regular Direct Appeal – A direct appeal proceeds directly from a final decision of a trial court or administrative agency to the Indiana Court of Appeals, or, in rare instances, to the Indiana Supreme Court.  A direct appeal is initiated by filing a notice of appeal in the trial court within 30 days after the trial court has made its ruling or entered a judgment after a trial. Once the notice of appeal is filed, the court clerk is required to prepare the trial court record containing all the court filings of the parties. Also, at this stage, the court reporter will prepare a transcription of the trial or hearing held in open court. Direct appeals may be filed in both civil and criminal cases.

Interlocutory Appeal – An interlocutory appeal is one that is made even before the trial court has reached a final decision. Consequently, interlocutory appeals usually involve a pretrial ruling by the trial court, such as on a pretrial motion by one of the parties. The appeal is based on a specific order or intermediate decision taken by the trial court. An interlocutory appeal may involve, for example, a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to stop specific conduct of a party before a full-blown trial, or a denial of a motion to dismiss the case, such as on jurisdictional grounds. Depending upon the nature of the ruling that is being appealed, an interlocutory appeal is either "of right" or "discretionary."  Permission to initiate a discretionary interlocutory appeal must be granted by both the trial court and the Court of Appeals before the appeal will be considered.  No such permission is needed for interlocutory appeals that are "of right." Under Indiana appellate law, an interlocutory appeal does not stay continuing proceedings in the trial court unless the trial court judge or appellate court orders otherwise.

Post Conviction Appeal – A post conviction appeal may be sought in criminal cases in certain circumstances by a person who has been convicted of a crime and wants relief from a sentence that is being served.  A post conviction appeal is not a substitute for a direct appeal from a conviction or sentence. Examples of post conviction appeals include the discovery of new evidence not known or available at the time of a trial or sentencing hearing.

Expedited Appeal - An expedited appeal arises in certain situations involving a Child In Need of Services (CHINS) or juvenile delinquency.  Under Indiana appellate law practice, the appellate courts also will give expedited consideration to interlocutory appelas and appeals involving issues of child custody, support, visitation, adoption, paternity, CHINS, termination of parental rights and other cases entitled to priority by court rule or statute.