Florida Civil Appeals Attorneys
Your civil law cases cover a wide variety of areas in your life. The courts can make long-lasting, life altering rulings that are not in your favor or may have made a mistake during trial. Occasionally, facts may surface after the final order that could have made a difference in your case. It is even possible you were misrepresented by your previous attorney. Fortunately, in many of these instances there is the option to challenge these rulings in search of a more favorable decision.
Possible Outcomes of Appeal
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The trial court’s decision was correct and stands.
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The appellate court returns the case to trial to be reheard.
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Part of the trial court’s decision is changed.
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The trial court made an incorrect decision that is withdrawn.
When a party disagrees with the ruling in their trial it is extremely important that they follow the appropriate steps in their appeal. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days and must include all of the orders that are relevant to your appeal. Depending on the specific situation of your case you may need to file a motion for reconsideration or petition for rehearing. You may also ask the judge to give additional support to their ruling. Our skilled attorneys at DML Attorneys, P.A., can help you pursue an appeal on your case and determine what steps need to be taken for the best possible chance of success.
Filing a Civil Appeal in Florida
First outlined in the Constitution and further reinforced by the Florida Constitution, it is the legal right of any party in a civil or criminal court case to appeal a decision made in their case. An appeal is a legal procedure in which the appellate court reviews the rulings of a lower court. Specifically, an appeal aims to evaluate whether any legal errors occurred and subsequently affected the outcome of the initial case. It is important for parties to remember that the appellate process is not an opportunity to address the facts of the case, but rather the legal procedure surrounding the enforcement of an individual’s rights during the legal process.
When filing an appeal, it is essential to work with an attorney experienced in the appellate process. Not only does this relieve the stress of having to represent yourself, but also it ensures you are taking all the steps necessary to file your Notice of Appeal. This includes drafting a brief of your case, meeting filing deadlines, paying filing and other court fees, etc. Failing to do any of these things in accordance with the terms of the court may jeopardize your appeal.
When to Appeal
For any case to be appealed, there must have been a legal and prejudicial error which affected the ruling of the case. Like most processes, the courts operate by following specific rules and guidelines for conducting legal proceedings. When the rules for such legal proceedings are not explicitly followed, it opens to the opportunity for an appeal. The error made could have been an oversight in procedure, a mistake with evidence or even a fault in the application of the law by a judge. While many parties may opt to appeal their case, the District Court of Appeals has the final say in determining whether any such errors in trial negatively affected the final judgment of the case.
Possible Outcomes
There are a few different possibly outcomes of an appeal. On one hand, the appellate court may find that no errors occurred during trial court, reaffirming that the lower court’s final ruling still stands. On the other hand, the appellate court may find that the trial court did make an error affecting the final ruling. When this occurs, the appellate court may simply reverse the ruling of the lower court or reverse the ruling and subsequently return to case to be retried in the lower court. Finally, the appellate court may find that despite errors occurring, they did not impact the final decision of the case, and thus the ruling of the lower court is upheld.
It is important to remember that despite having the legal right to appeal, there are factors that may prevent an appeal from being granted, as outlined above, or even lead to a dismissal of the appeal altogether. For example, if you did not file an appeal within the timeframe specified by the court, your appeal may be dismissed. If you are appealing an issue within your case that isn’t necessarily a final decision, your appeal may be dismissed. Therefore having an experienced attorney is crucial to filing an appeal. With the attorneys of DML Attorneys, P.A. by your side, you will always know the best next steps for your case.