Appeals of Family Law and Civil Litigation

Portland Family Law Appeals Attorney

If a case goes to trial, one or both parties may be dissatisfied with the result. Either party can appeal the trial court’s decision. Oregon has two appellate courts: the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court. There is a strong bias in both courts to affirm a trial court’s decision, unless it is manifestly wrong. Except in certain circumstances, the Court of Appeals is the appellate court that decides whether the trial court’s decision should be affirmed, affirmed in part, reversed, or reversed in part. The appellate court can also “remand” a case, or send it back to the original court, for further proceedings in some circumstances.

The Court of Appeals is understaffed and overworked. As a result, the court routinely summarily affirms trial court rulings without explaining why it reached its decision. If the court decides that the trial court made an error, or that it would benefit the public and the legal community to do so, it will write an “opinion,” which will be published for the public to read. That may take many months, or even years, to happen.

After the Court of Appeals decides a case, either party can ask that the Oregon Supreme Court review the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court reviews very few cases decided by the Court of Appeals. If the Supreme Court reviews the decision of the Court of Appeals, it will write an opinion that will generally either affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals or reverse it. Unless the court’s opinion involves an issue of federal constitutional law, a party cannot usually appeal from the decision of the Oregon Supreme Court to the United States Supreme Court.

The Oregon Legislature recently revised the rules the Court of Appeals must follow in deciding family law cases, which makes prevailing on an appeal more difficult. The best grounds for an appeal exist when the trial court made a ruling that is inconsistent with existing statutes or case law, which had a significant impact on the result at trial.

Peter formerly worked as a clerk for Judge Edward Warren at the Court of Appeals. He has handled appeals in the State of Washington, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in Oregon. Peter has represented many clients and businesses on appeal, in cases ranging from a wide variety of family law cases, to complex environmental litigation to attorney malpractice, and from land disputes to business litigation cases.

Peter has the knowledge and experience to help you make an informed decision about whether you have good grounds for an appeal. He can also defend you if the other side has appealed the trial court’s decision.