What is the standard of review for an appellate court?
The standard of review for an appellate court in Virginia is a “clearly erroneous” standard. This means that the appellate court will look at the lower court’s decision and determine whether it was correct or not. The appellate court will only overturn the lower court’s decision if it finds that the lower court’s decision was “clearly erroneous”, or in other words, if the lower court’s decision was illogical or unsupported by the evidence presented. When determining whether a lower court’s decision is “clearly erroneous”, the appellate court will consider the entire record of evidence, including any testimony or documents presented at trial. The appellate court will also consider the judge’s reasoning in making their decision. If the appellate court finds that the lower court’s reasoning was flawed or that the evidence presented does not support the lower court’s decision, then the appellate court may overturn the lower court’s decision. In some cases, the appellate court may use a different standard of review for a particular issue. For example, the appellate court may use a “de novo” standard of review to review decisions related to matters of law. Under this standard, the appellate court will review the lower court’s decision “from the ground up” and will not give any deference to the lower court’s decision. No matter the standard of review used, an appellate court’s primary focus is to determine whether the lower court’s decision was correct or not. If the appellate court finds that the lower court’s decision was incorrect, then the appellate court may reverse or modify the lower court’s decision.
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