Civil Appeal: When and How a Court Judgment Can Be Challenged

A civil appeal is not a new trial. There is no jury, no witnesses are called, and no new evidence is admitted. The appellate court does not care if the trial judge was rude or if a witness lied, unless those issues created a specific legal error. It is a review of the frozen record to ensure the law was applied with procedural accuracy.

The appellate court exists to correct mistakes in law and to ensure that legal principles are applied consistently across the jurisdiction. They provide a check on the power of the trial court judgment, focusing on whether the judge interpreted statutes correctly or gave proper instructions to the jury.

Generally, you can only appeal once the trial court has issued a final judgment that resolves all claims for all parties. Interlocutory appeals: those filed before the case is over: are exceptionally rare and restricted to specific situations where waiting for a final judgment would cause irreparable harm.

Many daily rulings made by a judge, such as scheduling changes or minor discovery orders, are not immediately appealable. To pursue a civil appeal, the order must usually be one that fundamentally alters the rights of the parties or ends the litigation.

The most common ground for a civil appeal is an error of law. This occurs when the judge applies the wrong legal standard or misinterprets a contract or statute. Since these are pure questions of law, the appellate court reviews them de novo, meaning they give no deference to the trial judge's opinion.

This applies to rulings where the judge has a range of choices, such as whether to admit a specific piece of evidence. To win on these grounds, you must show the judge’s decision was arbitrary or irrational. This is a much higher bar to clear than a simple error of law.

The appellate court reviews the record on appeal, which includes every document filed in the trial court and a verbatim transcript of the proceedings. If an argument was not made on the record during the trial, it is usually considered waived and cannot be raised for the first time during a civil appeal.

The standard of review is the lens through which the court looks at the case.

• De Novo: Used for legal questions. High chance of review.
• Clear Error: Used for factual findings by a judge. The court gives great deference to the trial judge.
• Substantial Evidence: Used for jury verdicts. Appellate courts rarely overturn a jury's view of the facts if any reasonable evidence supports it.

The appellate court agrees with the trial court judgment. The original decision stands, and the case is closed unless a higher court, like a Supreme Court, agrees to hear it.

If the court finds a reversible error, they may reverse the judgment entirely. More commonly, they will remand the case, sending it back to the trial court with instructions to fix the error. This might mean a new trial or a specific adjustment to the damages awarded.