Post-Trial and Appeals
Appeals
The district court may certify an order involving a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion, where immediate appeal may materially advance the litigation. The court of appeals then decides whether to accept.
Both courts must agree.
Alternative Names:
1292(b) Certification, Interlocutory Certification
Why it Matters?
The two-step structure makes success unlikely, since the district court must certify a ruling it just made and the appellate court must then agree to hear it. Success rates are low at both stages. The mechanism works best for genuinely novel legal questions where district courts have divided, rather than for rulings a party simply believes wrong. The petition to the court of appeals must be filed within ten days of certification.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why is success unlikely?
What questions are suited to the mechanism?
