The California Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appellate court.
Not all federal courts are trial courts. Some are appeal courts. Appeal courts only review cases already heard by trial courts. Some lower courts are specialized and only have trials on specific issues. The Supreme Court has only heard appeals since 1924. The Supreme Court reserves the right to hold a trial. No one has suggested any reason why the Supreme Court would sit as a court of original jurisdiction. Still, it could.
They are in different places on the hierarchy of jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction is higher. Courts with appellate jurisdiction can hear appeals, whereas courts with original jurisdiction can hear cases for the first time.
No it doesn't.
When one does not believe they've received a fair trial, they appeal their case to a higher jurisdiction. The court they appeal to is the "Appellate Court", "Court of Appeals", etc. Any of those names are acceptable, as they refer to the same thing.
Leave for appeal is when the trial court gives you permission to appeal. This is common when the issue is not directly appeallable, such as an interlocutory appeal. Appeal as of right means you do not need permission from the trial court to appeal, and you may simply file your appeal.
Appeal
Appeal
An intermediate court of appeal is a court, usually in bigger states, that may take an appeal from a trial court. Above the intermediate court of appeal is the supreme court of a state. Consists of about 3-5 judges.
US District Court cases (THE federal district court) are heard by a jury if the defendant requests a jury trial, or by a judge if the defendant requests a bench trial. A judge always presides over the trial, but only pronounces judgment in bench trials.
Appeal
An appeal is an application to a higher court for the review of the decision of a lower court. Depending upon the jurisdiction, courts have different names, but the "bottom" level is the trial court. It is there that a judge hears the facts (testimony, documents, expert witnesses, etc.), considers arguments of counsel as to how to interpret the facts and what law to apply. One would file an appeal to the next higher level of court if he/she believed that either the wrong law was applied to the facts that were elicited at trial, or that the law was applied improperly. An appellate court does not re-hear the facts or substitute its view of the facts for that of the trial court. It may, however, "remand" the case to the trial court to reconsider the evidence in light of the appellate court's determination of the issues of law.