What is the standard of review in a criminal appeal?

The standard of review in a criminal appeal in Tennessee is the de novo standard. In other words, a court of appeals must review the entire trial record anew and make its own independent judgment and conclusions. The purpose of this review is to determine if errors were made by the lower court. This means the court of appeals must give the trial court record the same level of respect as it would give to a jury’s decision. The court of appeals must then decide whether any errors that were made by the lower court affected the outcome of the case. If the court of appeals finds that any errors were made, they may reverse or modify the judgment and/or sentence of the lower court. In some cases, the Tennessee Supreme Court may review appeals from the court of appeals. When this happens, the Tennessee Supreme Court only reviews the proceedings to determine if the lower courts followed the law and whether any errors were made that had an effect on the outcome of the case. The Court is not making any new factual findings, and does not rely on the lower court’s findings in making its own decision. In short, a criminal appeal in Tennessee is reviewed under a de novo standard. The court of appeals and the Supreme Court only review the prior court proceedings to determine if any errors affected the outcome of the case. If errors are found, the judgments or sentences of the lower court may be reversed or modified.

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What is the standard of review in a criminal appeal?

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