Appellate Review of Trial Court Decisions

Understanding the different standards of review is necessary to the lawyer's informed reading of the appellate opinion. Further, the lawyer should use standard of review to discuss with the client the nature of the trial court's decision and the likelihood of success on review. If the client understands the difference between questions of law, which are reviewed de novo, and discretionary decisions, which are generally deferred to unless unreasonable, he or she will form realistic expectations about the trial and whether to consider an appeal.

This casebook discusses the role of appellate courts and the history of appellate review and presents an overview of the concepts of scope of review and standard of review. It is organized into chapters on the different standards of review and includes notes and questions. The book is adaptable to a lecture-discussion format or as a classroom adjunct to a seminar-research paper arrangement.