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Dealing With a Legal Loss: How to File an Appeal in a Florida Family Law Case
You lost. After months or years of preparing your divorce case for trial, you finally had your day in court. You patiently waited to set the record straight. Your attorney told you this day would come, and it finally did. At trial, you had the chance to explain your situation to the judge. Your attorney asked you questions to guide your testimony, and you unapologetically shared your life story with the court. You were honest, well spoken, and prepared. But after a few weeks or months of waiting for the judge’s ruling, you received the final judgment, and the other side won.
Your first reaction was shock. Your second response was anger. Now, you are wondering what can be done to fight this wrong outcome. You believe there was no evidence supporting the other side’s position. What can you do? Can you ask the judge to reconsider his or her ruling? Can the decision be reviewed by a higher court? Can you get a new judge? A new order? This article addresses the various steps involved in filing a family law appeal in Florida.
Step 1: Ensure You Have a Final Order
An appeal is a request for a higher court to review the decision of a lower court. However, not all decisions made by a trial judge can be appealed. Before you can file an appeal, you must have a final order in hand. A final judgment of dissolution of marriage or another final order that decides the merits of your case is usually considered an appealable order. You should ask yourself:
“Does this ruling from the judge end my case, or does it merely take care of one small step in the process?”
If the court’s decision resolves all pending matters in your lawsuit, such as child support, time-sharing, equitable distribution, and alimony, chances are that you have a final order. Although there are some non-final orders of a court that may be appealable, that is less common, and you must meet other strict requirements.
Step 2: File a Notice of Appeal
Once you have decided that you can and should file an appeal, you must timely file a notice of appeal. In Florida, the deadline to file your notice of appeal is 30 days from the date the court issued its signed, written order. Missing this deadline will foreclose your opportunity to file an appeal, so it is critical to act quickly to preserve your appellate rights.
The notice of appeal must include the name of the lower court, the names of the parties, the lower court case number, the name of the court you are appealing to, the date the lower court’s order was rendered, and a description of the nature of the order you are appealing. You are also required to attach a copy of the order you are asking the appellate court to review and, if applicable, any motions you filed that postpone rendition of the order. You will also have to pay filing fees when you submit your notice of appeal to the clerk.
Step 3: Obtain the Record on Appeal and Any Transcripts
An additional item you have to pay for is the record on appeal. To review the lower court’s decision, the appellate court needs a complete record of all documents filed in your case. The lower court charges additional fees to prepare the record. You also need to obtain a transcript if there was a trial or final hearing where evidence, testimony, and legal argument were presented. You should obtain that transcript from the court reporter so that the appellate court knows what happened at the trial.
Step 4: Prepare Your Legal Briefs
The next step is to write your legal brief. An appellate brief is your main chance to argue your case on appeal. Your brief must comply with the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure in terms of formatting, length, and citations. If you are the party filing the appeal, then your legal brief should persuasively argue why the appellate court should reverse the trial court’s decision. If you are defending against an appeal filed by the opposing party, then your brief should explain why the trial court correctly decided the case.
There are three appellate briefs that are filed in a typical appeal. The first brief is called the initial brief, and it must be filed by the party who filed the appeal within 70 days of when the notice of appeal was filed. Then, the responding party has the opportunity to file an answer brief, which must be filed within 30 days of when the initial brief was served. Finally, a reply brief can be filed by the party who filed the appeal within 30 days of when the answer brief is submitted.
Step 5: Request an Oral Argument
Most appeals are decided on the written briefs, but you have the opportunity to request an oral argument. If you want the chance to present an oral argument to the appellate court, you must file a request for oral argument no later than 15 days after the last brief is due to be served. It is up to the appellate court whether to permit oral argument, so you are not guaranteed an oral argument in your appeal. If the court grants your request for oral argument, each side will usually get 20 minutes to argue their position to a panel of appellate judges.
Step 6: Waiting for a Decision
After the appellate court reviews the briefs and the record and hears any oral argument, the court will reach a decision on the legal issues. You will receive a written ruling from the appellate court. If the appellate court agrees with the trial judge, the decision you receive may only state that the trial court’s decision is affirmed, without any further explanation. If the appellate court found some error with the trial judge’s decision, then you may receive a detailed opinion containing the appellate court’s findings and analysis. In that event, the opinion would also include directions to the trial court about what corrective measures need to be taken.
Keep in mind that the appellate process often takes several months, and there is no set timeline of when a decision will be issued in your case. If you file an appeal, patience is essential, as it is common for an appeal to take one year or even longer to come to an end. Depending on how complex the issues are in your case, how busy the appellate court is, and whether extensions of time are requested and granted in your case, your appeal may be prolonged.
Final Considerations
Ultimately, appealing a trial court’s decision in Florida is a long and complicated process with procedures that must be carefully followed and deadlines that cannot be missed. If you have a pending appellate matter or are considering filing an appeal, you should consult with an appellate attorney. Those having questions or wanting to discuss their appellate matter can schedule an initial consultation with me by calling 239-344-1119 or emailing me at iman.zekri@henlaw.com.