Appeals
If you lost your case, an appeal may be your only option to reverse a judgment or other decision. Appeals follow strict deadlines from the date of judgment. Moreover, preparing and arguing appeals require intensive review of the record, objections, and law. I provide both opinion letters and full service representation in the Court of Appeal for the Second District of California.
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Journey to Appeal
Appeals are available to litigants after losing a case at the trial court. In some cases a judge may make a ruling before a final judgment which you deem unfair. Usually you can ask the court of appeal to review such an intermediary ruling through a procedural mechanism known as a "writ."
A case begins at the Trial Court.
If a person loses and wishes to appeal, the case may travel to the Court of Appeal.
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Standard of Review
The Court of Appeal has three general standards for reviewing a case:
1. Substantial Evidence
In other areas of law "substantial" means a significant event which resulted in a particular outcome. But in the court of appeals, when a case is reviewed for "substantial evidence," the court is merely searching through the record to determine whether there is any evidence that supports the outcome of the case. For example, if you are appealing a judgment from a jury verdict, if the court finds any evidence in the record that supports the jury verdict it will affirm or uphold the decision of the jury.
2. Abuse of Discretion
Procedural decisions, such as whether a judge admits hearsay testimony or whether a party should be compelled to appear at his deposition, are reviewed on a basis of "abuse of discretion." A decision is reversed if a judge "abused" his discretion at the time he made a ruling. Generally speaking judges make the right decisions, but in certain circumstances the intensity of the case, the weather, or some other factor causes a lapse in judgment or error.
3. De Novo
Cases are reviewed de novo when the issue is a matter of law, such as interpreting the legal significance or applicability of a law. The court of appeal does not put any value to the decisions of the lower court. Since the court of appeal basically ignores the trial court's decision, this is the most intensive standard of review.