Rule 15.2 Scope of Appeal

When you appeal a district court's decision about a prison disciplinary case involving lost earned credits, the appeals court only looks at what already happened in the lower court. You can't bring up new issues or arguments that you didn't raise during the district court review.

The appeals court also limits its focus to one main question: did the prisoner get fair treatment (due process) during the disciplinary proceeding that took away their earned credits? If an issue doesn't relate to that due process question, the appeals court won't consider it, even if it was raised below.

This means you need to raise every argument you plan to make while your case is still in front of the district court. If you wait and try to bring up a new point for the first time on appeal, the court will not review it. Make sure your petition and arguments at the district court level cover everything you think went wrong, because that's your only chance to get those issues heard.