Illinois Appellate Court

The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases arising in the Illinois circuit courts. In Illinois, litigants generally have the right to appeal first to the circuit court's final decisions or judgments. Three Illinois Appellate Court judges hear each case. The concurrence of two is necessary to render a decision. The Illinois Appellate Court will render its opinion in writing, in the form of a published opinion or an unpublished order. As of 1935, decisions of the Illinois Appellate Court became binding authority upon lower courts in Illinois.