What is the Abuse of Discretion Standard?
An Appellate Court Will Let a Trial Court’s Decision Stand if That Decision Falls within a Broad Range of Permissible Rulings
If a party is unhappy with the trial court’s decision, it may appeal the judgment to the court with appellate jurisdiction over the case.
The proper appellate court may be the Court of Appeals of Virginia if requesting review of a decision of a state circuit court, the Workers Compensation Commission, or the State Corporation Commission. Or, if a United States District Court entered a verdict, the parties may appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the proper circuit.
This article explains a common standard of review used by appellate courts when reviewing a lower court’s decision for legal error: the abuse of discretion standard.
As you will see, winning at trial is critical because the abuse of discretion standard makes it difficult to overturn the trial court’s decision on appeal.
If you have questions about your injury case, call our law firm at (804) 251-1620 or complete this online contact form. We represent injured employees and accident victims in cases involving construction site injuries, plant explosions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, child injuries, and car crashes.
What is Judicial Discretion?
Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th Edition, defines “judicial discretion,” also known as “legal discretion,” as follows:
The exercise of judgment by a judge or court based on what is fair under the circumstances and guided by the rules and principles of law; a court’s power to act or not act when a litigant is not entitled to demand the act as a matter of right.
The right to make a discretionary decision does not mean the trial court may do whatever it wants. Instead, the discretionary standard recognizes that the trial court may have to make a range of decisions involving procedural and substantive matters, and its decisions will not be disturbed on appeal so long as it is not influenced by a mistake of law.
What Do Courts Say Abuse of Discretion Means?
Like the “reasonable person” standard in negligence cases, the abuse of discretion standard seems vague.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has recognized this vagueness, observing that the abuse of discretion standard, “though familiar in statement, is not necessarily that simple in application” because it can occur in many situations.
Despite this difficulty, appellate courts have held there are three principal ways a trial court abuses its discretion.
The Three Main Ways a Trial Court Abuses Its Discretion
An abuse of discretion usually falls into one of these categories:
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- The trial court fails to consider a relevant factor that deserves significant weight.
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- The trial court gives substantial weight to an irrelevant, immaterial, or improperly admitted factor.
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- The trial court weighs the proper factors but commits a clear error of judgment in its decision. A court’s error of judgment may involve a plainly wrong application of the law or assessment of the evidence.
When Does the Abuse of Discretion Standard Apply?
An appellate court will use the abuse of discretion standard when reviewing trial court decisions in civil (including tort claims) and criminal law cases regarding evidentiary rulings, such as whether to admit or exclude witness testimony, pretrial discovery, and motions for sanctions.
In addition, Virginia Code Section 8.01-680 says the abuse of discretion standard applies when the trial court denies a party’s motion for a new trial or to set aside the verdict as contrary to the evidence.
A Skilled Trial Lawyer Can Help You Use or Overcome the Abuse of Discretion Standard
Evidence wins cases.
If the trial court excludes critical evidence you rely on to prove your claim, your chances of losing increase. And unless the appellate court finds the trial court’s decision to admit your opponent’s evidence or exclude yours was plainly wrong, you will have difficulty reversing this ruling because of the abuse of discretion standard.
Don’t leave your case to chance.
Call or email our skilled Virginia personal injury lawyers today.
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