Trial courts and appellate courts are very different in their focus, and any litigation of a business nature requires both attention to the trial itself, which is the presentation of evidence and the making of motions and the preparation to argue to a jury, as well as attention to what’s going to be needed when a case goes up on appeal.
It’s quite possible to win a case at trial and be very persuasive to the jury and the trial judge. The problem is that if there are errors in the trial court proceedings, then the other side might be able to get the judgment taken away on appeal.
An Appeal Does Not Decide the Case Again
Often it’s confusing for people experiencing lawsuits for the first time that the court of appeals has a very different focus. The court of appeals doesn’t decide the case over again. What the court of appeals decides is whether or not the trial judge made any errors or whether or not the jury made any errors.
One of the reasons why it’s important to have a focus on appellate practice while you’re preparing for trial and in trial is that there are limited ways in which you can preserve your arguments for appeal. This is why, when preparing for a lawsuit and a trial, one of the focuses that we bring to it is to ensure that we are preparing not only to win at trial but to hold on to that victory on appeal.
How We Protect Clients When the Trial Judge Makes an Error
It’s my job to help our clients when we win a case at trial, we have properly protected it on appeal, or if the trial judge makes an error at trial, we have the proper opportunity to get redress in the court of appeals to get that reversed and have the case tried again.
If you have questions about this video or the subject thereof, contact Richards Rodriguez & Skeith.