Drafted by our associates at Appellate Practice Services, LLC, the following tips on Florida Appellate Practice is not intended for anyone to rely upon in making any type of legal decision.

FLORIDA APPELLATE PRACTICE IN A NUTSHELL

Appellate practice is the field of law dedicated to presenting a case to a court of higher jurisdiction for purposes of determining whether an error was made during the trial. A party bringing an appeal (the "appellant"), who is dissatisfied with the trial court's decision or the jury's verdict, cannot retry his or her case in the appeals court. Review is limited to determining whether any mistakes were made during trial. All trials contain errors of some sort. The question here is not whether an error was made during trial, but whether the error prejudiced the party affected by it in a material way that affected the final determination of the case. That is, the appellant must show that the outcome would have been different if the mistake or error had not taken place or had been corrected by the trial court.

For an appeal to be heard, the parties must follow certain appellate rules. This section of the article tracks the Florida appellate rules and the case law interpreting those rules.

Generally, appeals can only be brought from a "final" judgment. The final judgment is the trial court's order, which leaves nothing left to be done in the action except to follow the dictates of the judgment. See Allie v. Ionata, 503 So.2d 1237, 1240 (Fla. 1987) ("A final judgment is one that determines the rights of the parties and disposes of the case on its merits, leaving nothing more to be done in the cause except execution."); Monticello Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 743 So.2d 1215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). If a party is dissatisfied by a certain pre-trial ruling, the party must normally wait until the trial is complete, and a final judgment has been rendered, before an appeal may be brought. This is so all objections to the trial court's rulings will be heard at one time. There are certain exceptions to the final judgment rule, however, such as when an order is entered by the trial court that affects a party’s finances like an interlocutory order for alimony. Those exceptions are not covered in this article.

An appeal must be brought within certain time limitations or else the right to appeal will be waived. In Florida, the time limit starts to run when the trial court enters the final judgment. The appellant has 30 days from that date to file a Notice of Appeal. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(b) (civil cases); Fla. R. App. P. 9.140(b)(5) (criminal cases); Burkette v. Sharp, 752 So.2d 77, 78 (Fla.2d DCA 2000). If the notice is not filed in a timely manner, the appellate court does not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal, and it will be dismissed. See Macri v. La Coille, 710 So.2d 1389 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), review denied, 727 So.2d 907 (Fla. 1999), and cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 80, 145 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1999).

The party taking the appeal, the appellant, then has 10 days to file directions to the clerk and/or designations to the reporter. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.200. The party opposing the appeal, (the "appellee") has 10 days from the filing of the Notice of Appeal to file a "cross appeal" if he or she believes the trial court erred in failing to grant relief to the appellee. If a cross appeal is filed, the party's are termed, "appellant/cross appellee" and "appellee/cross appellant." Cross-appeals are not discussed in this article.

The clerk prepares the record and submits it to the appellate court within 50 days of the Notice of Appeal, and the appellant's initial brief is due 70 days from the date of the filing of the Notice of Appeal. Extensions of time are liberally granted if the opposing side does not object. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(e), (f); In Interest of M.M., 708 So.2d 990, 992 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). The record before the Florida District Court of Appeal consists of the pleadings, pre-trial motions and a transcript of the trial testimony, including whatever exhibits or rulings were entered during trial. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.200(a)(1).

The parties’ “appellate briefs” consist of the written arguments of the appellant and the appellee that are submitted to the appellate court prior to the parties' oral arguments. For the appellate court to hear issues, the arguments must have been raised in the court below. That is, the claimed errors must have been brought to the trial court's attention while the court still had the opportunity to take some corrective action. A party must timely object when an error is made. If the trial attorney did not object to the error during trial, it is said that the issue has been "waived" on appeal. See J.L.A. v. State, 707 So.2d 380, 381 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (where no appropriate contemporaneous objection was made, issue was not preserved for appeal).

After the parties have filed their appellate briefs, the matter is scheduled for oral argument, although, in some situations, appeals are decided on the briefs alone. That, for example, is usually the procedure when a pro se prisoner brings an appeal. Many pro se cases are disposed of on the briefs alone. Appellate briefs in the Florida District Courts of Appeal are not permitted to exceed 50 pages for the appellant's initial brief, 50 pages for the appellee's answer brief and 15 pages for the appellant's reply brief. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.210(a)(5). Briefs that go over the set page limit will be rejected, unless the court permits an extension in the page limit. See Basse v. State, 740 So.2d 518, 519 (Fla. 1999) (initial and answer briefs shall not exceed fifty pages unless court permits a longer brief). Most appellate courts allow only a set number of minutes for oral arguments and the time limitations are strictly enforced. See Fla. R. App. Pro 9.320.

Appellants are also limited by the standard of review the appellate court employs. The term “standard of review” refers to the level of deference that a reviewing court gives to a lower court's rulings. The greater the deference, the more difficult it will be to persuade the reviewing court to find reversible error. The greatest deference is given to findings of fact. This is because the trial judge or jury had the best opportunity to observe the witnesses and judge their credibility, first hand. Thus, findings of fact will not be found in error unless the appellate court determines they are not supported by competent, substantial evidence or are clearly erroneous. See, e.g., Shaw v. Shaw, 334 So.2d 13, 16 (Fla. 1976) ("It is not the function of the appellate court to substitute its judgment for that of the trial court through re-evaluation of the testimony and evidence from the record on appeal before it."); Smiley v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 704 So.2d 204, 205 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) ("The findings of the trial court, as the trier of fact, come to this court clothed with a presumption of correctness, and where there is substantial competent evidence to sustain the actions of the trial court, the appellate court cannot substitute its opinion on the evidence but rather must indulge every fact and inference in support of the trial court's judgment, which is the equivalent of a jury verdict). Questions that involve both law and facts, such as evidentiary rulings, are also allowed a great deal of deference. Once again, appellate courts respect the trial judge's ability to observe the witnesses and to judge their credibility during so-called “bench trials”. Pure questions of law are reviewed de novo and are therefore afforded the least deference. See Florida Power Corp. v. Silver Lake Homeowners Ass'n, 727 So.2d 1149 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999).

Our associates at On-Point Paralegal Services, LLC, are dedicated to the field of appellate practice. Our associates are fluent in appeals before the Florida District Courts of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. It is important to choose the right appellate practitioner who has years of dedication to this field of expertise because if you lose your appeal, you very well may not have any further avenue of redress. The Florida Supreme Court, except in limited circumstances, is not mandated to hear an appeal after it has been disposed of by the Florida District Court of Appeals. In most cases the Florida Supreme Court only hears an appeal in its discretion. A party ordinarily needs to ask the Supreme Court for permission to hear its case, and the Supreme Court has all of the authority in the world to simply say “no” without explanation. That is the nature of the beast. Whether the matter could then be further appealed, for example whether a party may then file a Petition for Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, is beyond the scope of this article, but not beyond the scope of the services offered by On-Point Paralegal Services, LLC.