What is the standard of review used on a post-conviction relief order?

The standard of review used on a post-conviction relief order in California is an abuse of discretion standard. This standard is used to review decisions made by the lower court. This means that the reviewing court looks at whether the lower court applied the proper legal criteria when making its decision and then decides if the lower court abused its discretion. The reviewing court won’t substitute its judgment for that of the lower court, but rather it looks to see if the lower court erred in some way. When reviewing post-conviction relief orders, the reviewing court considers all of the facts in the record and the legal rulings made by the lower court. The reviewing court can set aside the post-conviction relief order if it believes that the lower court abused its discretion. This isn’t done often because the reviewing court gives a lot of deference to the decision of the lower court. The reviewing court understands that the lower court is more familiar with the case than it is and gives the lower court’s decision the benefit of the doubt. The purpose of the abuse of discretion standard is to ensure that post-conviction relief orders are fair and consistent with the law. The standard also ensures that the reviewing court doesn’t interfere with the lower court and instead gives it the freedom to make its own decisions.

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What is the standard of review used on a post-conviction relief order?

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