If at First You do Not Succeed: An Overview of Remedies Available in the United States Courts of Appeals

Authors

Thomas Allan Heller
University of Maribor, Faculty of Law

Synopsis

In the United States federal court system, from a procedural standpoint, it has been the historic policy that appeals to the Courts of Appeal lie only from final decisions by the district courts. This policy, dubbed the final judgment rule, is designed to prevent a piecemeal approach to appellate practice, and to enhance efficiency and fairness. Applied overly strictly, the rule can often lead to unfair results, and even irreparable harm. This article catalogues the primary exceptions to the final judgment rule, and discusses those instances when interlocutory appeals may be taken short of district court rulings disposing of all issues as to all parties, that is, final judgments.

Author Biography

Thomas Allan Heller, University of Maribor, Faculty of Law

Thomas Allan Heller is an American legal expert who earned his legal education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Michigan, 1976) and obtained his J.D. from Wayne Law School in Detroit (Michigan, 1979). He successfully passed the Michigan State Bar Exam in 1981 and the Washington State Bar Exam in 1984. His professional career includes work both in the judiciary and in private legal practice. In 2017, he moved with his family to Maribor, where he established strong and successful ties with the Faculty of Law at the University of Maribor (PF UM). Through his collaboration with the faculty, Thomas Allan Heller made a significant contribution to the dissemination of knowledge about the American legal system in Slovenia. His involvement particularly enriched the teaching process at PF UM, offering students valuable insights into comparative and U.S. law. Thomas Allan Heller is also a key initiator of the now flourishing partnership between Wayne State University and PF UM. His academic work includes a range of scholarly articles published in respected Slovenian journals such as Lexonomica, Medicine, Law & Society, and Pravnik, further solidifying his role in fostering legal scholarship and international academic cooperation.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: heller6651@msn.com

Downloads

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Volume

Collected Papers of Thomas A. Heller

Pages

117-146

Published

July 14, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Heller, T. A. (2025). If at First You do Not Succeed: An Overview of Remedies Available in the United States Courts of Appeals. In S. Kraljić (Ed.), Collected Papers of Thomas A. Heller (pp. 117-146). University of Maribor Press. https://press.um.si/index.php/ump/catalog/book/977/chapter/736