Divorce Attorney - Appealing a Divorce in Louisiana
Knowing the steps necessary to file an appeal, along with the appellate standard of review, should help guide your decision-making.
Often times, an ex-spouse
gets an unfavorable decision from the trial court. When this happens,
it is important to know the appellate standard of review in such cases.
Sometimes the trial court’s judgment may warrant a reversal. But we
will learn, that most of the time, the trial court’s ruling is affirmed.
Because the trial court has the opportunity to observe live witness
testimony, its credibility findings are given high deference. At the
appellate level, the court simply reviews the trial court’s record. A
divorce attorney generally does not submit new evidence to the appellate
court.
For example, a judgment ending a marriage may be immediately granted if a
spouse has committed adultery. However, the trial court must make a
factual finding ruling that the other spouse did in fact commit
adultery. The Louisiana Supreme Court has stated that the complaint
must allege that adultery has actually taken place. It cannot simply
state a series of events which may lead a person to infer that adultery
had taken place. Nonetheless, the trial court will review the record.
And if the allegations are proven by the other spouse’s divorce
attorney, then the district court should immediately grant the judgment.
The opposing party may then seek to appeal. Before proceeding to an
appellate court, it can be vital that you and your divorce attorney
understand the burden which you must prove and the likely the court may
grant you relief. First, where there are discrepancies in trial
testimony, the appellate court will likely not disturb the trial court’s
inferences and conclusions unless they are unreasonable. So for
example, let’s say Al and Matilda stand before a trial court. The
testimony at trial is conflicting. Matilda’s boyfriend on-the-side takes
the stand and says they’ve never cheated. However, video surveillance
reveals both of them coming out of a hotel at 4am. As such the trial
judge draws the inference that the two were cheating. In this case, the
appellate court will most likely conclude that the trial court’s
inference was a reasonable one. As such, they may affirm the trial
court’s judgment.
Let’s look at the opposite scenario a divorce attorney may face. There
is conflicted testimony at trial. Spouse takes stand and says I’ve
never cheated. However, the other spouse’s divorce attorney introduces
evidence that spouse ate lunch every day with Sarah. As such, the trial
court inferred that the two were cheating. In this case, the appellate
court may reverse the trial court’s ruling because it seems unreasonable
to conclude that she was cheating on her husband just because she ate
lunch with Sarah every day.
Sometimes, there is a fact pattern that is not clear cut. The line
between what is reasonable and unreasonable can get hazy. For example,
Al and Queen Latoya are married. One day, they get in a big verbal
fight. Al storms out the door and says I’m going to Cancun, Las Vegas,
and then Miami where I can meet some real women. Shortly thereafter,
Queen Latoya’s divorce attorney files to end the marriage based on
adultery. Al takes the stand and testifies he did not cheat on his wife
when he visited the aforementioned cities.
What should a trial court do in this situation? Would it be reasonable
to infer that Al cheated on his wife while he was in Cancun, Las Vegas,
and Miami? Or should the court believe Al’s testimony at trial? Here
there is no clear cut answer. Reasonable minds can disagree.
Accordingly, the appellate courts of Louisiana have asserted that
reasonable decisions made by the trial court based on the record will
not be reversed even though the appellate courts themselves may have
viewed the evidence differently. In a nutshell, if the trial court’s
decision is a reasonable one, then the appellate court will likely not
reverse.
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A Metairie divorce attorney will be there for you when you are overwhelmed with the situation. For help with family law matters visit: Beaumont Divorce of Metairie, 3814 Veterans Memorial Blvd #302, Metairie, LA 70002, (504) 834-1117 or Beaumont Divorce, 3801 Canal Street #207, New Orleans, LA 70119, (504) 483-8008.
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