History Main / ThereIsNoHigherCourt

* DoubleSubverted in ''ToKillAMockingbird''. Atticus Finch was going to appeal Tom's case, but [[spoiler: Tom was shot to death, [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch allegedly for trying to escape]].]]

* DoubleSubverted in ''ToKillAMockingbird''. Atticus Finch was going to appeal Tom's case, but [[spoiler: [[TearJerker Tom was shot to death, allegedly for trying to escape]].]]

* DoubleSubverted in ''ToKillAMockingbird''. Atticus Finch was going to appeal Tom's case, but [[spoiler: [[TearJerker he was shot to death, allegedly for trying to escape]].]]

** Subverted in ''The Trial.'' The Law described as having many strong, powerful guards by a series of doors, and past each guard is a stronger guard. Even if K. was able to get his case appealed to a higher up, he'd still be condemned guilty sooner of later.

*** This last loophole has received some attention, however, and it is possible that the courts might be willing in the future to entertain jurisdiction after graduation under the doctrine that standing exists when the behavior is "capable of repetition but evading review" (i.e. when they just stop doing it whenever you threaten to sue; this is most common in pollution cases).

* Usually part of the [[MindScrew maddening]] {{Crapsack World}}s FranzKafka's characters are forced to deal with.

* Finally as you go higher in the appeal process in most jurisdictions you need to first obtain leave from the Court before they will even hear your appeal; if they refuse, your appeal won't even be heard. Usually this is the case with higher appellate courts. Leave is indeed very rarely granted, the US Supreme Court grants leave to 100 cases a year; out of 10,000 applications! The reason for this is due to the fact it is in the public interest to ensure that litigation ceases and that appellate courts and higher forum are used to decide cases of national importance, or which raise issues of interpretation of statutes. Not to adjudicate in every Tom, Dick and Harry's dispute.

* ''{{Amistad}}'', based on a true story, averts this with the case being appealed to the Supreme Court and the lawyers have to explain to Cinque why their case has to be argued again after they just won their freedom in court. For his part, Cinque is both outraged and bewildered this alien legal concept.

* One of the numerous problems with the legal system in the ''HarryPotter'' novels. A competent defense attorney could have gotten Sirius set free and Crouch disbarred from practicing law with the basic procedural errors committed on an appeal, regardless of whether or not Sirius had actually committed the murders he was imprisoned for.

**** Okay, the example still stands until the Supreme Court rules on the Catapult issue (pending [[TheSimpsons Gumble vs. Quimby]]).

[[AC:Film]]
* ElviraMistressOfTheDark, as noted above. SOMEONE had to be able to tell witch-burning is unconstitutional.
* FootLoose. First Amendment.

* DocHollywood. Most judges don't judge their own cases.
* Averted in InheritTheWind, which was based on the Scopes Monkey Trial. The appeal isn't shown in the film, but Cates (the Scopes-analogue) and his lawyer discuss making an appeal.

* In SinCity, it's obvious that the Rourke family owns the city so they use the courts to their advantage. One could even assume that they also control the courts in the [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield unknown state]] the city resides in since one of the brothers is a senator. There's really nothing to explain why the more justice-minded characters wouldn't go to a federal court, though.

[[AC:Literature]]

* In ''The Appeal'' by John Grisham, the case being subjected to the titular appeal is being reviewed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. [[spoiler: After the court overturns the verdict, the litigants' lawyers say they'll appeal to the US District court and the US Supreme court, but that chances of anything helping them will be so slim as to be non-existant.]] In this case, there ''is'' a higher court, but it doesn't matter.

[[AC:Television Series]]
* In Ed, a judge would decide the punishment of people before him with a Wheel-of-Fortune-style implement. He seemed to have been doing that for a while before the protagonist discussed it with him...
* In TheSimpsons, the mayor at one point discovers that the city of Springfield actually has an old and unenforced law banning the sale of alcohol. Therein, anyone convicted of possessing alcohol in Springfield was to be punished "by catapult"... as in being flung into the next county with one...
** Nothing unconstitutional about banning the sale of alcohol (there are a number of places in the USA that ban it), but the catapult is right out.
*** The power of a state to ban alcohol is one of their explicitly enumerated Constitutional powers. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution 21st Amendment, Sec. 2.]]
**** Okay, the example still stands until the Supreme Court rules on the Catapult issue (pending [[TheSimpsons Gumble vs. Quimby]]).
* Thoroughly averted in the ''Law and Order'' franchise, where appeals to higher courts are a frequent part of the "Law" half of each show.

* Litigation is a very expensive endeavor and an appeal means more costs are incurred. Often time in real life it is easier for the defeated litigant to pay up then go for an appeals process which will consume even more of his resources and time.

* Litigation is a very expensive endeavor and an appeal means more costs are incurred. Often time in real life it is easier for the defeated litigant to pay up then go for an appeals process which will consume even more of his resources.Not to mention time.