Short answer. Yes. Before the appellee files their brief you can withdraw the appeal as a matter of right, with no court permission needed. After that point, Rule 50, Section 3 makes withdrawal discretionary — the Court of Appeals decides whether to allow it.
What the law says
An appeal may be withdrawn as of right at any time before the filing of the appellee's brief. Thereafter, the withdrawal may be allowed in the discretion of the court.
Rule 50, Section 3 — Withdrawal of appeal. Read the full provision →
Withdrawal as of right, before the appellee's brief
Section 3 gives an appellant an unqualified window to abandon the appeal. An appeal may be withdrawn as of right at any time before the filing of the appellee's brief. During that period, no showing of cause or court approval is needed — the appellant simply withdraws, and the case ends there without further inquiry from the court, regardless of how far along the briefing schedule otherwise is.
After the appellee's brief, it becomes discretionary
Once the appellee has filed a brief, the calculus changes. Thereafter, the withdrawal may be allowed in the discretion of the court. The appellant no longer controls the outcome unilaterally; the Court of Appeals decides whether to permit the withdrawal at that later stage, weighing whatever circumstances the case presents at that point, rather than granting it automatically on request.
Why the appellee's brief is the dividing line
Tying the shift from an automatic right to a discretionary one to the filing of the appellee's brief reflects that, once the appellee has invested effort and expense in responding to the appeal, the court has an interest in overseeing whether the case is dropped — rather than letting the appellant walk away unilaterally after the other side has already fully engaged on the merits.
What withdrawal actually accomplishes
Withdrawing an appeal generally means the judgment being appealed from stands, since the appeal that would have subjected it to reversal or modification is gone. An appellant considering withdrawal should be clear on that consequence before acting, since Rule 50 offers a path out of the appeal itself, not a path to a different outcome on the merits, and withdrawal is ordinarily treated as final once the court has acted on it under this particular section of the Rules governing appeals to the Court of Appeals.
Who this covers and what discretionary withdrawal does not guarantee
Section 3 speaks only to the appellant's power to withdraw the appeal it has taken; it does not give an appellee any comparable right to withdraw a brief already filed or to force the appeal to end on the appellee's own initiative. Once the case moves past the as-of-right window, a motion to withdraw does not automatically succeed simply because it is filed — the Court of Appeals can deny it and require the appeal to proceed to decision on the merits instead, particularly where the appellee has already committed substantial effort to the case or where allowing withdrawal at that late stage would prejudice the appellee in some way the court considers unfair. An appellant weighing withdrawal after the appellee's brief has been filed should therefore not assume the outcome is a formality.