Appellate court’s review in civil and criminal law cases
In most civil and criminal law cases, when a case has been tried, the losing party can appeal their case to a higher court to review the lower court’s rulings. The appellate court is made up of a panel of judges who review the lower court’s case and decides whether the case should be affirmed, reversed, reversed in part, or remanded back to the trial court for retrial.
If the appellate court affirms the lower court’s judgment, the trial court’s verdict in the matter is affirmed, meaning the appeals court found no error of law, and therefore, the verdict stands.
Appellate courts do not rule on facts but on the substantive and procedural issues of law.
