When litigating a civil action in federal district court, a party generally has the right to appeal to a federal court of appeals (also known as a circuit court) from a final order or judgment that awards relief against it or denies some of the relief it sought (28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 1295; see Forney v. Apfel, 524 U.S. 266, 271 (1998)). An aggrieved party normally also has the right to appeal from certain types of interlocutory (non-final) orders, such as orders granting or denying injunctions (28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)). If an order or judgment is not appealable as of right, an aggrieved party often may petition for permission to appeal (FRAP 5(a); FRCP 23(f); 28 U.S.C. §§ 1292(b) and 1453(c)(1)).

The process for litigating an appeal differs from the process for litigating a case in federal district court. For example, there is no discovery in the court of appeals. The parties are normally bound by the factual record they developed in the district court. Motion practice is less common in the courts of appeals than in the district courts.

The appellate process centers on the submission of written briefs with arguments for reversing, vacating, or affirming the district court's order or judgment. The circuit courts also may permit the parties to present oral argument to the panel of three judges deciding the appeal. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) govern the appellate process but the local rules of each of the 13 federal circuit courts may modify or add to the FRAP's requirements.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit hears most appeals from federal district courts in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia (28 U.S.C. §§ 41, 100, 113, 121, 127, 129, and 1294).

This Toolkit contains resources explaining the process for litigating civil appeals in the Fourth Circuit, including: