Appellate Standards of Review
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010. Posted by Adrian P. ThomasThe appellate process is often a confusing landmine of rules, procedures and traps for the unwary. One of the essential elements for an inheritance lawyer in understanding the appellate review process is the applicable standard of review for particular issues addressed in the court of appeals.
In Florida, in the context of inheritance law court decisions, the different district courts of appeal are not required to defer to lower tribunals on issues of law. Stated another way, appellate review of a decision that is based on a legal conclusion involves no more than a determination whether the applicable issue of law was correctly decided in the lower tribunal. This concept is commonly referred to as the de novo review doctrine. (more…)



