An Appeal is a legal procedure challenging a final judgment or decree from a Washington State Superior County Court. The Appellate Courts in Washington will consider only information and evidence that has been presented to the trial court. It will not consider new information or evidence.
In family law cases, the standard for appellate review is whether the trial court abused its discretion, ultimately whether a reasonable person could have come to the same conclusion given the evidence presented, or if the court’s decision had been made on untenable grounds or reasons. Despite this standard, it is important to note that Appellate Courts afford trial court’s tremendous deference in relation to its decisions, essentially presuming the trial court’s did not abuse the discretion afforded it at trial.
As such, only 25% of the family law cases appealed are successful. An appeal is not a decision to be made lightly. It is necessary to consider the cost of continuing litigation on appeal, the length of time before a decision can be reached, and whether a party is emotionally equipped to continue the matter on appeal as well.
Appeals are complex. It is certainly not easily determined whether a matter will succeed on appeal. However, deciding whether to appeal a final family law matter from the trial court is always best made after consultation with an experience family law lawyer, who has experience not only litigating cases in county courts, but on the appellate level as well.
Paul DiNenna has argued before the Washington State Appellate Court, Division III, as well as the Washington State Supreme Court in Olympia, Washington. In fact, the still photo here is a picture of Paul DiNenna presenting before the Washington State Supreme Court. If interested in hearing the argument, please click the link for the video.
If interested in appealing a case, have questions, or would like more information on appeals, please feel free to contact DiNenna & Associates.