Florida Law
Florida Civil Appellate Law
Civil Appellate Law
After a decision is rendered in a civil case by a trial judge or jury, the party who "loses" has the right to have the decision reviewed by a higher court. This process, known as the appeals process or appellate process, is the subject of this chapter. Court proceedings prior to appeal are outlined in the Process of a Lawsuit Chapter. The court system in general is covered in the chapter entitled Florida's Legal & Judicial System .
Appellate courts are set up just to make appellate decisions.
So, too, many lawyers practice only appellate law. One reason
for this legal specialty is that arguing an appeal is quite different
from representing a party in a trial.
A party who disagrees with a judge's or jury's decision should
seek the advise of an appellate lawyer regarding the prospects
of a better outcome on appeal. A party served with a notice that
the opposing party is appealing the decision likewise should contact
an appellate attorney.
What Is an Appeal?
Appeal is the term used to describe the process by which a higher
court reviews the decision of a lower (trial) court. The right
to appeal an adverse legal decision is granted by the United States
Constitution and the Florida Constitution. This appeals system
provides a check on the power of a judge or jury. Judges who interpret
the law erroneously will have their decisions overturned by a
court with authority to do so. Judges know that their governance
over every case may be checked by an appellate court.
Some appeals are granted only at the discretion of the appellate
court. The United States Supreme Court, because it cannot review
every single case decided in the federal system, hears appeals
only at its discretion.
A party who had a court decision made against him or her is the
party with the right to appeal. (Only under very rare circumstances
can a party appeal a favorable decision on the ground that he
or she disagrees with the reasoning of the decision.) The party
who appeals is known as the appellant. In opposition to the appellant
is the appellee, the party who agrees with the outcome of the
trial and will argue during the appeal that the judge's or jury's
decision should be left alone.
Requirements for Appealing a Decision
A party in a lawsuit who wishes to appeal an adverse decision
may not do so until the trial court has made its final decision.
If the lower court has not yet rendered its final decision, the
appeal is not appropriate. It would be confusing and inefficient
for everyone involved if a higher court were to step in and give
its input into the proceedings in the lower court while they are
still going on. Then, there is a small window of time during which
the party may file the appeal.
Finality
Not every determination made by a judge is appealable. Only final
judgments, decisions that conclude the case in that court once
and for all, are appealable. If a particular decision was not
final, it is not time for an appeal.
Throughout the course of any civil trial, the trial judge may
make numerous decisions. The judge may rule on a motion to limit
the scope of questions that may be asked in a deposition, or may
grant or deny a request that the case be dismissed on the ground
that there is insufficient evidence of wrongdoing. Any court order
that does not complete the case is not considered a final order.
For example, if the judge denies a motion to dismiss, the proceedings
will continue and the order denying the motion is considered an
interim order or interlocutory order, not a final order. On the
other hand, if the judge grants the motion to dismiss the case,
that order is final. A decision regarding the subject matter of
the case has been made: sufficient grounds do not exist for the
case to continue. The final decision (also called a final disposition,
final judgment or final order) disposes of the case as far as
that court is concerned.
Generally, a final decision is made after a hearing. The judge
or jury has heard all the evidence, and makes a decision. A finding
that the plaintiff proved or failed to prove his or her case ends
the litigation at that stage. The final order is appealable.
Timeliness
Only a final decision is appealable, but the right to appeal does
not last forever. Parties are bound to keep things moving along
by exercising the right to appeal within a reasonable length of
time after the final judgment is rendered. Like a statute of limitations,
every court has a rule dictating the length of time after the
final judgment during which an appeal may be made. For example,
in the federal system, a federal district court's final decision
generally must be appealed within 30 days (or 60 days if the United
States or its agent or officer is a party) or the party who wishes
to appeal loses that right forever.
Sometimes, there is a question as to when the final judgment of
the trial court was entered. In an employment discrimination case
in which a plaintiff sought back pay and other damages, a court
issued an order setting forth its findings of fact and conclusions
of law and stating that judgment was for the plaintiff and against
the defendant. Some months later, the court issued another order
awarding back pay and a retroactive promotion. Yet another order
was entered in the next month, in which the court granted the
plaintiff attorney's fees and litigation expenses. A question
arose about when the clock started ticking for the defendant to
file a notice of appeal. Which order was the final order for purposes
of appeal? The appeals court held that the last order, granting
fees and expenses, was the final judgment in the case, because
it dispensed with the last of the issues raised in the plaintiff's
complaint.
The Scope of Review
What an appeals court has authority to decide is limited. The
appellant must outline the specific question it wants answered
by the appeals court. The question may be as broad as, "Did the
trial court err in deciding in favor of the plaintiff?" or it
may be very specific. Usually, the appellant asks that several
critical questions be answered. Historically, rather than "filing
an appeal" a party was said to file a "writ of error." The writ
of error was a request to a higher court to overturn the lower
court's final decision based on a critical error in reasoning,
or simply because the decision was wrong.
A plaintiff who loses an age discrimination case, for instance,
may file an appeal challenging the bases upon which the trial
judge made his or her decision. This appeal might be structured
as:
• Did the trial judge err when she ruled that the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act did not apply?
• Did the trial judge err when she ruled that the plaintiff was
required to show that he was replaced by a worker outside the
protected age group?
• Did the trial judge err when she ruled that the plaintiff failed
to establish a prima facie case?
Because appeals are structured in this way, it is sometimes said
that the actions of the trial judge are on trial, not the actions
of the parties to the original litigation.
In fact, the parties do not have a chance to re-litigate the case
before the appeals court. The trial level offers the only opportunity
for parties to submit evidence, examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and argue the facts and the law of the case. The appeals court
only considers whether the trial was conducted properly and whether
the outcome was reached by proper application of the law to the
facts. As noted above, the only question for an appeals court
may be very specific, such as whether a particular document should
have been submitted. But only issues that were raised originally
in the trial court can be challenged at the appellate level.
The body of evidence, argument, testimony and objections considered
in the trial court is all that may be considered by the appeals
panel. This body of evidence is called the record. Every piece
of evidence and every argument made by the parties' lawyers is
recorded into one big document, the record, which is said to "close"
once the trial is over. Once the record is closed, no more evidence
can be included. Also, no more objections to evidence can be made.
At the appeals level, the court is restricted to review of the
record. A party cannot offer new evidence or new objections for
the appellate court to consider. The age discrimination plaintiff,
for example, may not ask the appellate court to overturn the decision
of the trial judge based on a new document that the trial judge
never saw. The trial was the only opportunity to present the document.
On the other hand, the plaintiff may argue on appeal that the
judge should have allowed his coworker to testify, as long as
the plaintiff made that argument in his original case. He may
give the appellate court an indication of what the coworker would
have said, so the court can weigh whether the exclusion of the
testimony was harmful to the plaintiff's case.
The Appellate Decision
Because the appeals court only reviews the actions of the lower
court–not the actions of the parties–its decision is couched in
terms of whether the lower court made the right decision. The
range of options for an appeals court are:
• Affirm: The appeals court may affirm the lower court's decree,
judgment or order, which is a declaration that the decision of
the lower court was right and it will stand.
• Error: If the appellate court holds that the lower court's decision
was erroneous, it will reverse, modify or remand (see below).
It may rule that the mistake was a harmless error, which means
that even though there was an error, it did not affect the outcome
of the case enough to make a difference. Maybe a particular witness
should have been allowed to testify, but the testimony would have
been similar to that of a witness who did take the stand and whose
testimony did not carry much weight, so the jury probably would
not have found the excluded testimony very compelling. Excluding
the witness was harmless error.
• Modify: A final trial court decision may be affirmed by a higher
court with minor modification that does not affect the substance
or general findings of the decision.
• Remand: A case is remanded when it is sent back to the lower
court with instructions about what the lower court should do.
Usually, a remand means there were errors in the trial court's
decision to such an extent that the appellate court cannot correct
the errors itself. The lower court must reconsider the case based
on the appellate court's instructions.
• Reverse: An appeals court decision to reverse a case is a ruling
that the trial court should have reached the opposite conclusion.
For example, a finding for the plaintiff should have been a finding
that the defendant was not liable; or a finding for the defendant
should have been a ruling that there was enough evidence to find
the defendant liable. Unlike a remand, the appeals court has enough
evidence in the record to make a determination to reverse. Sometimes,
the appeals court reverses and remands at the same time. In this
situation, the court has enough information to reverse the trial
court's bottom line, its ultimate decision, but some questions
remand.
In addition to these different options, appeals courts often hand
down decisions that combine several different rulings. A court
may reverse in part and affirm in part, or it may affirm a judgment
as modified by the points described in its opinion.
Appeals Courts and Appellate Procedure
The Federal Appellate Structure
The federal appellate system consists of 13 federal circuits, each of which has one appellate court called a court of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Within each of the federal circuits are several federal district courts that serve as trial courts for issues of federal concern. Parties who are dissatisfied with the outcome of a district court case have the right to appeal to the court of appeals encompassing that district. Florida is located in the Eleventh Circuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit usually sits in Atlanta, but occasionally hears cases in Jacksonville, Miami, Mobile and Montgomery. Florida has three U.S. district courts, in the northern, middle and southern districts. A case heard in one of these federal district courts (such as the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida) would be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
The United States Supreme Court hears some cases that are appealed
"as of right." Mandatory appeals to the Supreme Court are made
only in cases decided by a district court composed of three judges,
chiefly in actions to enjoin legislative apportionments on constitutional
grounds. Most cases reach the Court by an application process
known as petitioning for certiorari. Review by the United States
Supreme Court requires more than just the belief by a party that
the wrong decision was made in his or her case; the case must
be of important enough concern to federal law that its issues
should be decided by the Court. The abortion cases heard by the
Supreme Court in the last few years have defined the parameters
of the states' authority to limit women's right to abortion. Such
questions of state authority are important federal questions.
Similarly, if two federal courts of appeals have made conflicting
decisions on the same question of law, an important federal issue
is present.
Florida's Appellate Structure
In Florida, all appellate proceedings are governed by the Florida
Rules of Appellate Procedure. Like the federal judicial system,
Florida's court system has three tiers, two of which are appellate.
Florida's circuit courts are the trial-level courts in which actions
are filed. Circuit courts also have some appellate authority,
as final orders of lower tribunals and administrative actions
sometimes are appealable to the circuit courts. District courts
of appeal are the courts with appellate jurisdiction in standard
cases. There are five district courts of appeal, located in Daytona
Beach, Lakeland, Miami, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach. The Florida
Supreme Court, located in Tallahassee, is the highest court for
determining important questions of Florida law. It directly reviews
the final orders of circuit courts and the decisions of the district
courts of appeal in three general areas. Decisions regarding validity
of a state or federal statute or treaty, the construction of a
provision of the United States Constitution or the Florida Constitution,
and the validation of bonds or certificates of indebtedness are
reviewable by the Florida Supreme Court.
The right to appeal an adverse decision is granted by the Florida
Constitution. Generally, to begin an appeal, the appellant must
file a Notice of Appeal and pay a filing fee within 30 days of
the lower court's final order.