LEGALLY SPEAKING
THE APPELLATE PROCESS
O
AWARDED 11 YEARS
By Evan H. Baron, Esq.
ne of the most misunderstood aspects of the law is the Appeal. Everyone has heard the term, but most people don’t really understand what the process entails. Although everyone technically has the right to appeal a lower court’s decision, only under limited circumstances will the filing of an appeal be valid. Appeals in Florida are filed with the District Courts of Appeal. There are 5 District Courts of Appeal, which cover the entire state. In Broward County appeals are filed in the 4th District Court of Appeal which is physically located in Palm Beach County. Cases that are appealed in Miami Dade County would be appealed to the 3rd District Court of Appeal, which is located in Miami Dade County. There are certain deadlines which must be followed in order to file an appeal. An appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date that a final order is signed by the Court. I sometimes get individuals who call me to inquire about an appeal from an order signed 6 months before. Unfortunately I must inform that they missed the deadline and so the order in question has now become final. Except under limited circumstances only final orders can be appealed. If a judge rules unfavorably in a matter during a hearing, that ruling cannot usually be appealed until a final order is signed. An appeal is not a re-trial of the case. An appeal does not require witnesses to come to court and give testimony all over again. It is not a “DO OVER”. In an appeal you are asking a three judge panel to review the lower courts decisions to determine if there were any errors of law. If a judge does not allow certain testimony or evidence to be introduced into a trial, that may be an error of law and can be appealed. If a judge listens to testimony and does not believe a witness, that is a matter of credibility and cannot be appealed. As you can see, the process is very technical in nature. Only issues which are preserved can be appealed. If in a divorce, the couple voluntarily enters into a Marital Settlement Agreement, neither one can subsequently file an appeal, since an Agreement was reached. Such an agreement is binding upon the parties. If however, the parties do not reach an Agreement, and a Judge issues a Final Judgment, either party may file an appeal and question the Court’s ruling. Statistics show that only a very small percentage of appeals are in fact granted. In most instances, if an appeal is granted; the case is sent back to the trial court for further proceedings; consistent with the Appellate Court’s ruling. There generally is no time limit for an Appellate Court to decide and waiting 12 months for a decision is not all that unusual. I strongly suggest that if you are considering an appeal, make sure you are within your 30-day window and hire an attorney.
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⊲ The law firm of Evan H. Baron and Associates is located at
2111 N Commerce Parkway, in Weston. If you have any questions concerning this issue or any other family law matter, call the office at 954-385-9160. Our City Davie / July 2021 / OurCityMedia.com / 31
