Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

of a lower court to a higher, appellate
court.
Appellate Court A court which has the power to
review the actions and decisions of a
lower court. The U.S. Supreme Court
has final appellate jurisdiction over
all the courts in the United States.
Appellee The party against whom an appeal to
a higher court is taken.
Arbitration A private, nonjudicial proceeding in
which two or more parties agree to
allow one or more arbitrators to
decide disputed issues. This
agreement may be made before there
is a dispute, as when patients insured
by an MCO agree to arbitrate
medical malpractice disputes.
Arbitration is binding if the parties
agree that neither can bring a legal
action on the same facts that are
subject to the arbitration agreement.
Arbitrators are persons who have no
interest in the dispute. They may be
attorneys, but are often lay
specialists in the area being
arbitrated. Each party chooses one or
more arbitrators. The parties often
agree to abide by the American
Arbitration Association (AAA)
established rules for arbitration.
They may also agree to choose
arbitrators from a list of persons
certified by the AAA.
Assault Legally, an assault is the act of
putting a person in apprehension of
immediate harm. (Battery is actually
inflicting the threatened harm.) In
general usage, and even in many
legal proceedings, assault is used to
denote both the threat and the action.
Threatening a person with a gun is an
assault, and an unwanted sexual
touching is also an assault. Since
assault is a threat of immediate
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