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Which courts are hearing Trump's appeals in 2025?
Executive summary
Multiple appeals and appellate proceedings involving Donald Trump in 2025 are being heard across several federal and state appellate courts: the U.S. Courts of Appeals (Second, Ninth, D.C. Circuit and others) and state appellate courts in New York and Georgia, and some matters have reached or sought review at the U.S. Supreme Court (notably tariff and other administration-action cases) [1] [2] [3]. Coverage is fragmented across outlets — some pieces focus on particular cases (hush‑money, troop deployments, civil fraud, SNAP and tariffs) rather than a single consolidated list of “all” appeals [4] [2] [1] [5].
1. The Second Circuit: state‑court and civil‑fraud appeals out of New York
Trump’s financial and related state‑court fights in New York have produced appeals to the New York appellate system and federal review avenues; Axios reported that the New York appeals court sharply reduced a large penalty and that Trump has pursued appeals of large civil judgments — matters that route through New York’s appellate system and in some instances have been framed for further review (including potential advancement toward state high court review) [1]. Reporting shows the New York appellate court overturned or cut penalties in major civil‑fraud litigation, and political allies quickly reacted, but the story points to continued appellate activity rather than a single appellate destination [6] [1].
2. The Second Circuit (federal) and the hush‑money conviction transfer fight
Federal appellate courts — specifically the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — are directly involved in procedural appeals tied to Trump’s Manhattan hush‑money conviction. Multiple outlets report a Second Circuit panel revived Trump’s effort to move the state‑court conviction into federal court for a possible immunity review, sending certain questions back to the district court for reconsideration [4] [7] [8]. The Washington Post and Fox News coverage make clear a federal appeals panel ordered additional consideration of whether evidentiary issues or immunity questions require federal jurisdiction [4] [7].
3. The Ninth Circuit: troop deployment and rehearing requests
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has been the forum for litigation over Trump’s authority to deploy federalized troops to Portland; a three‑judge Ninth Circuit panel allowed the deployment while litigation continues, and the court entertained a petition for rehearing en banc — meaning the full Ninth Circuit could revisit the panel’s 2–1 decision [2] [9] [10]. Reporting shows the Ninth Circuit’s initial panel decision produced both immediate operational effects and the prospect of broader court review, underscoring active appellate dispute in that circuit [2] [10].
4. The D.C. Circuit and broad challenges to administration actions
Several administrative and policy challenges tied to Trump administration actions have been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; Just Security’s litigation tracker notes appeals to the D.C. Circuit following district‑court injunctions against executive actions (for example disputes over prison policy and election‑related executive orders) [11] [12]. Reuters and other trackers also note appellate fights over executive powers and agency decisions that have wound up at the D.C. Circuit or been funneled toward the Supreme Court’s emergency docket [11] [12].
5. The U.S. Supreme Court: selective, high‑profile issues
The Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on several discrete, high‑stakes questions connected to Trump or his administration — including tariffs, birthright‑citizenship and emergency “shadow docket” applications — and it has heard or extended argument time for at least the tariffs case [13] [14] [3]. Reuters and the New York Times mapped a set of “major cases” reaching or seeking Supreme Court action, indicating that while many appeals begin in circuit courts, some issues are advancing to the high court on expedited or plenary tracks [3] [13].
6. Georgia appellate and state‑court activity
The Fulton County election‑interference prosecution has generated state appellate activity about whether the case can proceed and who may prosecute it; after Fani Willis was disqualified, a new prosecutor was appointed and the case’s future involves state courts and potential appellate interventions in Georgia [15] [16] [17]. Reporting portrays Georgia as the locus of the last state criminal matter still actively being reconfigured rather than being primarily a federal appellate docket item [15] [17].
7. Why coverage looks scattered — and what’s not covered
Available reporting divides Trump’s litigation into discrete tracks (civil fraud in New York; the hush‑money conviction and federal‑court transfer fight; deployment and administrative‑law disputes in the Ninth and D.C. Circuits; SNAP/tariffs and Supreme Court emergency work) rather than a single consolidated list of “all appeals” [1] [4] [2] [5]. Sources do not provide a single, authoritative roster of every court hearing every Trump appeal in 2025; available sources do not mention a single official master list compiling all appeals into one place [18] — though some trackers (Just Security, Brennan Center) do catalog many individual matters [11] [19].
Bottom line: appellate litigation in 2025 is spread across the Second, Ninth, D.C. Circuits (and other federal circuits), New York state appellate courts, Georgia state courts, and in selected matters the U.S. Supreme Court — with each outlet emphasizing different cases rather than a unified docket listing [1] [2] [4] [3].