The Iowa Court of Appeals held a low-key ceremony Thursday afternoon to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary. Chief Judge Rosemary Sackett says about 35 states have an appeals court as part of their judicial system.Not all operate the same, in Iowa the Supreme Court picks which appeals it will hear and sends to the rest to the appeals court. Sackett says losing before the appeals court doesn’t leave plaintiffs out of options, but it’s often the final verdict.After a decision’s filed, litigants may ask the Supreme Court to take it back, but it only takes about 3-percent of cases back for review. Sackett says the appeals court was established in 1976 to help with the appellate caseload.The Supreme Court has a lot of administrative tasks and the appeals court judges have more time to deal with the case load. The appeals court, which was started with five judges, now has nine members, and the Supreme Court’s cut its number of justices from nine to seven.
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