Based on my server logs, it appears there are multiple levels of review. The pattern I usually see is a little interaction after a few days of submitting, then a little more interaction right before approval. In one case, my app got rejected for an interface issue, and it looked like more people were involved. So it seems to be a "red-flag" kind of system.
Yes, for some apps, the first-stage approval is clearly done by someone fairly non-technical, just reading from a list of things they need to deny apps for. I've had first-level reviewers deny apps for really silly things, in some cases where the problem was the reviewer's command of the english language, rather than the app itself. Resubmitted with no changes and it went through 6 days later.
Oh and there are no appeals at this stage. This isn't a democracy. Resubmit the binary and get to the back of the line, scruffy.
But if you do get forwarded on, it seems to take about 2x as long, and get you to someone inside Apple who knows a thing or two.
