Our Appellate Attorney, Erica White, has sixteen years of legal experience, including thirteen years at the Fifth District Court of Appeal as a career staff attorney. While there, she gained valuable appellate procedure experience, serving as a career law clerk for former Florida District Court Judges David A. Monaco, Wendy W. Berger, and Meredith L. Sasso. Ms. White rounded out her legal experience serving as a term clerk for United States District Court Judge Wendy W. Berger at the United States Middle District Court in Orlando. During her term at the federal court, she had the opportunity to use her appellate court experience to assist Judge Berger in preparing to sit as a visiting judge at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
With her vast experience in all aspects of appeals, Ms. White understands the importance of researching appellate issues, drafting memoranda for appellate judges, and providing well-researched and persuasive written and oral arguments. Thus, she has a unique familiarity with what is necessary to succeed on appeal.
Appellate Law addresses a decision already made by the court and requires a different approach and skill set from trial proceedings. While the trial court deals primarily with parsing out credible facts before applying the relevant law, the appellate court focuses on whether the trial court correctly applied the law to those facts.
One of the main differences between a trial and appellate review is that an appeals court does not gather new evidence. Indeed, the appellate court is limited to the record created before the trial court and may not reassess credibility or consider issues and arguments presented for the first time on appeal. The only information considered is what was presented at trial and whether an error was committed during the trial that would be grounds to reverse the trial court’s decision.
Whether you are filing an appeal or defending one, it is important to have an appellate attorney familiar with the preservation of error and the exceptions thereto and one who can identify potential errors in the original trial proceedings and use these discrepancies to change the outcome of the verdict. Because orders from the court generally are given great deference, honed research skills are also necessary to cultivate an argument founded in good law that will persuade the appellate court.
To learn more, call our office at (386) 252-1561 or click here to contact us via email.
