If one disagrees with a Judgment in the Circuit Court, do you appeal to the State Supreme Court?

This is a Civil Case in the Circuit Court. If the Judge told the Defendants to "appeal" his Judgment Order, is it done to the State Supreme Court? Is there anything that needs to be done in that Court or does one file at the location of the State Supreme Court? Also, I think a lawyer must do that for you, it cannot be done pro se - is that correct?
Additional Details
The state is West Virginia. A Circuit Court Judge hears and rules in Civil Cases here. It is one of a few states that allows that I think. If I'm not mistaken, I think the next court to appeal to is the State Supreme Court; I looked up our court system here and that is the next one listed after Circuit Court. If I must submit a "motion to appeal" would it be to the same Judge in the Circuit Court? I don't know if we have an "appellate court"? I know this is a lot to answer - I may have to ask separate questions. Thanks for any input that everyone is giving - it is greatly appreciated.

violettegreen

1) Where you appeal depends on your state. Most have an intermediate "appellate" court, but some do not. What state do you live in?

2) There is quite a bit that needs to be done to appeal a case, but you CAN (technically, at least) do it pro se. It is just that the intermediate and higher court procedure gets quite complicated, so retaining an attorney, at least after you've filed the appeal, is a very good idea.

3) How you appeal depends on your state. Know that generally you're time limited: if you do not appeal by the deadline, your right to appeal will die. Generally, the first step is to order a copy of the record from the trial court--call the judge's clerk and ask how to go about doing this. This can be costly, depending on what is required.

You will also have to fill out a petition/motion to have your appeal heard.

4) Another reason for retaining a lawyer for an appeal is that the technical requirements can be confusing and complicated, and that the actual grounds for appeal is technical and generally based only in some error that the trial judge made. If you don't know the law, you are going to have a very difficult time identifying that error. Often trial court lawyers themselves retain appellate specialists, and don't even try to go to the next stage in the game.

Sum: call the court, find out what needs to be done, and at least consult with a lawyer.

EDIT: any court higher than the trial level is an "appellate" court, but it is confusing because in most states the intermediate level of courts is called the Court of Appeals.

In any event, I second what the other answerer said, and also recommend consulting with a lawyer. Although it is technically possible, it'd be very difficult to do on your own (for the reasons I outlined above). Moreover, depending on WV laws, the appellate court might have discretionary jurisdiction--meaning that if you don't do it right, the court could simply decline to hear the case, and it would make it much more difficult to appeal in the future.

James

In general, there is an intermediate level of appeals court between the circuit court and the state supreme court. You would appeal there first and yes typically you cannot proceed pro se in appeal.

Edit:
West Virginia is one of a few states with only one appellate court, the Supreme Court. It hears any and all appeals from the circuit courts. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you can file pro se, but it is very complicated and at the very least, you should get information from a Legal Research Center, public law libraries in the state.

Lisa

No, if there is an appeal-able issue, then you would appeal and it would be heard by the appellate court. Then, if the outcome is still not satisfactory, you can petition to go to the state supreme court. And YES you can file pro se. Unless your state doesn't allow that but that seems odd. I know for certain that you can file appeals pro se in California because my legal writing professor was a clerk that handled strictly pro se appeals. You might not do it right though and it would just get sent back so it's better to have an experienced attorney do it.

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