EXPERIENCED NEW JERSEY APPEALS/APPELLATE LAWYER
The Law Office of Charles Dawkins Jr., LLC. has experience in writing briefs and successfully arguing before the New Jersey Supreme Court and the New Jersey Appeals/ Appellate Court. The Attorney has participated in precedential cases that have been published by the New Jersey Supreme Court and the New Jersey Appeals Court. (Current case Appellant has appealed to the N.J. Supreme Court on Motion for Leave to Appeal).
The Superior Court is created by the State Constitution and the right to appeal is found in the State Constitution. The NJ Appeals Attorney must be familiar with appellate court rules to effectively represent his client. True, some private citizens are industrious and intelligent enough to write and argue their cases in the Appellate Division of Superior Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court, but the Appellants will likely have a better chance of success if the Appellant hires an experienced Appellate Attorney to navigate the process.
Frankly, most appeals are lost in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court. After the loss in many cases, the opportunity for relief is over. The Appellant should choose the Attorney that gives them the best opportunity to prevail in New Jersey Appeals Court---arguably one of the most challenging intellectual legal arenas in New Jersey. The Law Office of Charles Dawkins Jr., LLC will do its bests to represent the client.
UNDERSTANDING THE REQUIREMENTS TO APPEAL TO THE NEW JERSEY APPEALS COURT AS OF RIGHT?
Generally, the appellant must fulfill the "actual order" requirement to appeal the case from the Trial Court. The Appellant will need the "Order" or "Final Judgement" to Appeal the case to the Appellant Court in most cases. Also, only the aggrieved party may appeal the case. The party may agree with the result but disagree with the reasoning of the case. The disagreement with the reasoning of the Trial Court but not the result lacks a basis to Appeal the case.
The Order must be a final judgment. A conviction is not a final judgment that a defendant may appeal. A Sentence must be imposed before the Defendant is able to appeal the case.
There are exceptions to the final judgment rule. The Appellant should seek legal counsel for a thorough explanation of the issue as to whether they may appeal to the New Jersey Appeals Court from a New Jersey Superior Court Trial Court as a matter of Right.
WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS OF APPEALS/APPELLATE REVIEW?
1. What is De novo review?
Many cases are reviewed de novo which means that the Appeals court reviews the lower court regarding issues of fact and issues of law and the court give no deference to the lower court's ruling on these points.
Even though the Appeals Court often reviews a case de novo. the New Jersey Appeals/Appellate lawyer should identify the alleged errors of law that prompted the Appeal.
2. What is Sufficiency of evidence to Support the Decision
The New Jersey Appellate Court does not weigh the evidence as the initial trier of fact. The Appeals Court only weighs the evidence to determine whether enough evidence existed for the trial Judge to make his decision. An Appellate Court usually follow the Trial Court's factual findings when the record substantially supports the Trial Court's factual record.
This is an important point, the NJ Appeals Court lacks interest in being fact finders. The Appeals lawyer must argue from the established record.
The Appellate Lawyer must demonstrate through citations to the record the points that support his legal arguments and refute the appellee's legal arguments. This is a very tedious task that requires attention to detail and a dedicated legal team.
3. What Clearly Erroneous Standard?
The clearly erroneous standard gives a great amount of deference to trial judges. The Appellant must show that the trial judge's ruling was so erroneous that no reasonable legal analysis would produce the Trial Judge's result. Case law exists that shows examples of clearly erroneous rulings by trial Judges, but the short of the matter is that the Appellate Lawyer must conduct extensive research as to the facts of the case and the law before such an argument can be presented to the New Jersey Supreme Court or the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
4. What is Abuse of Discretion Standard?
The burden is on the Appellant lawyer to convince the Court that the Trial Judge abused his discretion. The trial court has a lot of discretion, and abuse of discretion is not generic. The Appellant lawyer must point to specific issues where the trial Judge's discretionary decision-making was so untenable that the Appeals Court must step in and correct the wrong.
5. What is Miscarriage of Justice Standard?
Another burden that is placed on the Appellant lawyer is proving "miscarriage of justice" before the Appellate Division of Superior Court or the Supreme Court. The miscarriage of justice standard relates to R 2:10 which states in relevant part:
In both civil and criminal actions, the issue of whether a jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence shall not be cognizable on appeal unless a motion for a new trial on that ground was made in the trial court. The trial court's ruling on such a motion shall not be reversed unless it clearly appears that there was is a miscarriage of justice under the law.
The miscarriage of justice standard is used in a Motion to reverse a jury verdict. The Appellate Court may consider an error or omission if the error or omission is clearly capable of producing an unjust result, but the appellate court may in the interest of justice, notice plain error not brought to the attention of the trial or appellate court. R 2:10-2
6. What is Arbitrary and Capricious Standard?
The trial court has wide discretion in rendering decisions. However, the Trial court is unable to act without facts or without logic or on a whim. The decisons will be reversed only if a mistake in excercise of discretion is shown on appeal. Borodinsky v. Borodinsky 162 N.J. Super 437 (App. Div. 1978)
CONTACT THE LAW OFFICE OF CHARLES DAWKINS JR. LLC. FOR APPEALS/APPELLATE LAWYER IN ENTIRE STATE OF NJ.
Justice should not vary based upon the County or city that the matter is being heard. The United States Constitution, the New Jersey State Constitution New Jersey Supreme Court and precedential Appellate Division Superior Court decisions apply to the entire New Jersey State. Consequently, the Law Office of Charles Dawkins Jr., LLC represents Appellants in the entire State of New Jersey including: Elizabeth, NJ, Newark, NJ. Jersey City, NJ. Edison, NJ. Hamilton Township, NJ. Parsippany, NJ. Paterson, NJ., Middleton Township, Lakewood Township, NJ., Cherry Hill, NJ., Hackensack, NJ, Franklin Township, NJ., and Mount Holly, NJ.T
The Appellant should seek legal counsel if they want to Appeal a case. Volumes of Appeals Case Law and many rules are applicable when seeking to appeal a case. Contact the Law Office of Charles Dawkins Jr.,LLC if you seek to appeal a case to the NJ. Superior Court, Appellate Division, or the NJ Supreme Court.