Abuse of discretion appeals can be like NFL instant replays: a Minnesota federal appeals attorney explains the difficult challenge
If you are appealing your federal criminal conviction, you may think that the court of appeals will be reviewing your case looking for errors to correct. That is not necessarily what the court of appeals will do. There are various levels of “standard of review” for appellate courts to review cases. If the issue you are challenging is with the “abuse of discretion” standard of review, there are challenges that comes with this appeal.
Abuse of Discretion and NFL replays
An abuse of discretion standard of review gives deference to the district court’s decision. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewing a Minnesota federal appeal would not re-decide the issue of appeal as if they were in the same shoes as the district court judge. They would only reverse the District Court’s decision if they were, “left with the definitive and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed (in the exercise of that discretion).” United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948). What does this mean in a more practical way than using legal terms? An analogy would be what happens in the NFL with instant replay reviews. The referee reviewing the instant replay does not review the play to determine what they think was the correct call if they were to base their decision purely on the instant replay. They review the play to determine if there is “clear and obvious evidence” to overturn a call. There are situations where instant replays are reviewed and it looks like the referee most likely made the incorrect call, but because of the angle of the camera or other issue with visibility, there is not “clear and obvious evidence” to overturn the call. This situation is very similar to what happens when the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing an abuse of discretion issue from a Minnesota federal district court case. This can be frustrating if you are expecting the Court of Appeals to redecide every thing you think the district court judge got wrong. But it’s critical that you know what standard you are facing and how to strategize in making your best case on appeal.
Conclusion
Does this mean that winning an abuse of discretion challenge is impossible? No. But it does require having an attorney who can mitigate the difficult parts of your case and leverage the best parts of your case to the maximum extent possible. If you are appealing a federal criminal conviction, contact Subzero Criminal Defense for a free consultation. 651-248-5142. Subzero Criminal Defense, the law firm built to handle the difficult season.