Thanks EJ! So they occur only once, 2 years after the original case or right before the execution? I might get coding this weekend, unless Jon vetoes the idea.
In the US, the first appeal is required by law. Subsequent appeals are at the discretion of the Court being appealed to. Hence, most cases only get one appeal, as the courts try to limit themselves to "landmark" cases.
For games terms, I'd suggest limiting it to one appeal per trial. But, if you want to get crafty, here is the appeal tract for most crimes:
State Trial court->What is represented currently in-game
State Intermediate Appealate court->What I'm suggesting being added
State Highest Appealate court->The highest state appealate court, they hear approximately 5% or less of all cases requested, and they definitely set precedent. Therefore, some of the times when they hear a case, it changes a law, although they sometimes hear cases to solidify the status quo.
Federal District court-> They hear Consitutional matters on the case only. They can't create precedent, therefore they never change a law.
Federal Appealate court-> Also hears Consitutional matters, but they can create precedent
Federal Supreme Court->Those nine people that LCS tracks, they always set precedent, they can change laws if they so wish, but they only hear ~100 cases a year. Good luck, liberal comrade.
Also note that the game clumps both Federal and State crimes together. For instance, a State court would never hear the charge of Treason: That would be bumped up to the Federal Court. But I think simply adding an appeal that is discussed generally would be sufficient.
Generally, an appeal takes about 2 years to be heard. However, in a case where death penalty is the punishment, the appeal needs to be heard prior to the execution, so it is "moved up".
Note that this discrepency in-game does not exist in the real world, as sentences of death usually take two years or more in order to be carried out.