Can I appeal by myself?

In theory it is possible to successfully appeal a court decision without an attorney. But your chances of success, on average, are much lower than your chances of being struck by lightning. You can't just appeal a case because you don't like the outcome you got. To appeal a court's ruling, you must be able to show that the court made a specific error of law in its ruling. If this ruling occurred during the trial, before the final verdict, then you must have objected to the ruling at the time. If you did not, then you forfeited your right to appeal. Note that an error of law does not refer to an error in deciding that one person was more credible than another, or any other finding of fact. It refers to findings about the meaning and application of the laws, to the facts. To appeal a case, you must file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the court's judgment. If you miss that deadline, then again, you forfeit your right to appeal. If you file the notice, then the court of appeals will give you a deadline for your appellate brief. You will have to have your court hearing transcribed, and a complete copy of the transcription will have to be provided to the Court of Appeals, as well as the brief. The brief will have to be in the proper format - courts of appeal are much stricter about these requirements than trial courts, and they will not relax the rules for you because you're not a lawyer. The same rules apply to everyone. Your brief will have to cite existing statutes and case law that shows exactly why the ruling the trial court made was inaccurate under the law. The argument at the Court of Appeals will be limited to legal issues raised in your brief. They will probably not get into the facts - in general, they defer to the trial court on factual issues, for example, who is more credible than who, and what happened in general. They usually limit themselves to questions of law - for example, did the trial court apply the law correctly. You cannot submit new evidence in an appeal. Appeals deal with the record as it is. If you forgot to submit evidence to the trial court, that was your mistake and you're out of luck. If new evidence has emerged that substantially changes things, then your only options are to seek relief from the judgment under ORCP 71, or, if it's a child custody matter. to file a motion to modify, if you can show that there has been a substantial change of circumstances since the entry of the judgment. You should consult with an attorney in private if you want to pursue this.

Your rights to an appeal (and this answer is NOT directed toward any situation involving criminal law but only civil) begin 30 days after the "entry of judgment." This means the judgment has been signed, AND then entered into the court records (electronically but with a date and time). What this means is that you have 30 days in which to file a "Notice of Appeal" with the appellate courts in Salem (whether the Oregon Appellate Court from a trial court decision or Oregon Supreme Court from an Oregon Appellate Court decision). The filing fee is approximately $500.00 and preferrably done electronically through the court's filing system but can be done with a paper filing of Notice of Appeal. Once you have done so, the court will send you a briefing schedule. What this means is that you will have a date by which you must file the basis of your appeal of the trial court decision. An appeal can occur through a misapplication of the law or procedure from the trial court, or a misapplication of a material fact at the trial court - but you must have "preserved" that error at the trial court level during its proceedings. Error of a fact is a much complicated issue that is beyond a response here. You need to understand that the Appellate Court is going to rely on the transcripts from the trial court proceedings to review whatever issue it is that you are appealing. So, you will need to order the transcripts from the trial court (done through the trial court administrative office), and you will need to have the "tape" or oral testimony transcribed by a certified transcriber into a paper form of the trial transcript. This will cost somewhere in the several hundred dollar range for a one to two day proceeding. This transcript will need to be incorporated into your appellate brief where you will reference such and such page and tab of whatever particular testimony you wish to have the court review. Furthermore, the appellate brief must conform to a particular style and format. You will need a index of cases that you are relying on in the brief to substantiate whatever rule of law you are arguing as authority. These cases are cited in a particular format within the brief itself. I would suggest that you do a search on an appellate brief from Oregon to better understand the formatting within your brief. The other side will also have their timeline in which to respond to your brief. Based on the type of appeal you are filing you may be allowed a "reply" to the other side's response to your brief - if allowed will be due 21 days after the answering brief that was in response to your original brief. Finally, you can state that you do not request oral argument if you do not wish to argue before the appeals court. If that is the case, once the court hears the case (whether you choose or choose not to argue and whether the other side has its oral argument), the decision can take anywhere from eight months to fifteen months. Needless to say appellate work is very complicated and is considered a specialty in the practice of law. You may wish to contact an attorney to assist you.

It is always possible to represent yourself, but the more complex the case, the more likely you will make a substantive error -- or worse, a procedural error. If this case involves any substantial amount of money or has importance in your life, try to do everything you can to find an experienced appellate attorney in your state to represent you as soon as possible.

------In oregon, is it possible to appeal a case regarding issues such as divorce and restraining order to Oregon court of appeals by myself without a lawyer? Yes. It's not wise, but it's allowed. Appeals are very complicated, and it can be difficult to understand exactly what issues the appellate courts will and will not decide. You should at least consult with an appellate attorney to understand what you will be getting yourself into. ---------And how does the court of appeals decide the case? If you properly notice and file your appeal (a challenge in and of itself), the Court of Appeals will assign a panel of three judges to hear the case. That panel will read both sides briefs (which can be a challenge to write), and hold oral arguments. Each side will have 15 minutes to present its case at oral arguments, during which time the judges will be asking questions, and interrupting the presentations. At the end, the case will be submitted, and the panel will vote on all of the issues legitimately before it. The side that convinces two out of three judges wins (on any particular issue). If the Court feels it is an appropriate case for a written decision, it will issue one, and that decision will become precedent and binding law on lower courts. Most cases, however, are dispensed with by "AWOPing". Affirming the lower court decision without a written opinion. A divorce judgment review will be limited to legal errors made in the circuit court. The court will hear issues of law, and decide whether to overturn the (or part of the) lower court decision and remand it back to the original judge for further proceedings. A restraining order decision can be reviewed "de novo," that is, the Court can look at factual findings, and hold differently. -----will they actually have the two parties come to the court to hear the case? Yes. Unless you each waive oral arguments. -------or just just review all the evidences to decide the case? With the exception of the restraining order case, issues are limited not to the evidence before it, for the appellate courts to hear again. They'll be looking at the record of the lower court for legal errors that the lower court made, and, if appropriate, sending it back to the lower court for further proceedings. Appeals are not "do overs." They're not second chances. They're reviews of lower courts to see if the first chance you got was a fair one. As long as it was, they won't overrule a lower court decision, even if they as individual judges would have reached a different decision. -----And if I can appeal, is any chance that I can submit new evidence? None. That is, you may not present new evidence to an appellate court. It's an entirely closed universe. They will only be analyzing what was presented at the circuit court. However, if they rule that the original proceeding was unfair, and overturn it, depending on precisely how the Court rules, there might be chance to present new evidence at new proceedings in the circuit court.