Appellate Courts rely on which submissions from the case on appeal?

• A. Written and oral arguments by the parties; may permit other briefs
• B. New evidence and retrials
• C. Only oral arguments, no briefs
• D. Evidence presented at trials

Answer: (A)

On appeal, the court’s job is to decide whether the trial court made legal errors using the record from the case and the arguments the parties present. The material they rely on most are the written briefs that spell out the issues, the standards of review, and the authorities supporting each side’s position, along with any oral argument the court allows to flesh those points out. The option to include additional briefs, such as amici curiae briefs, may be available under the rules, but the core submissions are the parties’ written and oral arguments.

New evidence isn’t part of what appellate courts base their decision on, and a retrial isn’t conducted at the appellate level. The court reviews what happened in the trial as reflected in the record and focuses on legal issues and whether any errors affected the outcome. Evidence presented at trials remains in the record but isn’t re-litigated on appeal; the court asks whether the trial was fair and correct under the law, not whether new facts should be re-examined.