Rule 81.01 Right of Appeal

If you want to appeal a court decision in Missouri, you can only do so if a law actually gives you that right. Appeals are not automatic just because someone disagrees with a ruling. Instead, a specific statute or legal rule has to say that the decision can be appealed.

This means that before filing an appeal, you need to check whether the law allows it in your type of case. Some court decisions can be appealed, while others cannot, depending on what the law says. If no law gives you the right to appeal, the court will not let the appeal move forward.

In short, this rule sets the basic starting point for appeals in Missouri. It tells you that your ability to appeal depends entirely on what other laws say, not just on whether you feel the decision was wrong.