appellant

appellant — noun

1. a party who asks a higher court to review and overturn a ruling that went agains

1.nounC2
Definition

a party who asks a higher court to review and overturn a ruling that went against them in a lower court.

Example

The appellant argued that the trial judge had ignored crucial witness testimony.

the appellant + verb in legal narrative

Lawyers for the appellant filed a 200-page brief with the Supreme Court last Friday.

lawyers for the appellant — possessive frame

Common collocations
  • the appellant argued
  • counsel for the appellant
  • the appellant's brief
  • the appellant claimed
Synonyms
  • petitioner

    broader: any person formally asking a court for a ruling, not only on appeal

  • challenger

    general English; lacks the specific legal procedural meaning

  • plaintiff in error

    older legal term, mostly historical and rare in modern courts

Antonyms
  • appellee

    the opposing party who defends the lower court's decision

  • respondent

    British legal usage for the party answering the appeal

Grammar Patterns

the appellant + verb

appellant in [case]

Usage Note

Subject is always a party that has already lost at a lower level; distinguish from 'appellee' (the side that won below and is now defending the ruling). Do not confuse with 'plaintiff', which names the party who started the original case.

Common Mistakes

The appellant won the original trial and now wants more money.
The plaintiff won the original trial and now wants more money.
only the losing side can be the appellant.
She is the appellant of the contract.
She is the appellant in the contract dispute.
the preposition is 'in', linking to the case, not 'of' linking to the document.

appellant — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms name a party in a lawsuit, but each marks a different procedural role. An 'appellant' has lost at a lower court and is now asking a higher court to overturn that result, so the word always points backwards to a previous defeat. A 'petitioner' files an opening request with a court — for divorce, custody, or judicial review — without any earlier ruling to attack. A 'plaintiff' is the party who first started the original case at trial level. The 'appellee' is the appellant's opposite number: the side that won below and now defends the ruling. Quick test: 'The plaintiff won the trial, so the defendant became the appellant, and the plaintiff is now the appellee on appeal.'

appellant ↗petitionerplaintiff ↗appellee

Common collocations

Nouns

  • appellant's brief
  • appellant's counsel
  • appellant court
  • appellant jurisdiction

Phrases

  • counsel for the appellant
  • the appellant submits
  • lawyers for the appellant

Prepositions

  • appellant in [case]
  • appellant against [a ruling]

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Comes from Latin 'appellare', meaning to call upon or address. The word travelled through Old French 'apelant', the present participle of 'apeler' (to call, to summon to a higher court), into late Middle English in the 1400s as a legal label for the party calling upon a higher court to review a case. The adjective use grew out of the same noun and was already in courtroom English by the 1500s, though modern legal writing now prefers 'appellate' for the adjective.