Reconsideration and Appeals
In family court, it is a common practice
to ask the judge or hearing master to
reconsider the evidence, and to modify
a prior order. Thus, people frequently
file motions seeking to modify child
custody and visitation arrangements,
child support arrangements, or deadlines
in the divorce case. A motion for reconsideration
usually requires some evidence that the
court overlooked when the original court
order was issued, or some proof that
one or both of the parties are experiencing
a change in circumstances.
When a issue
is presented to a court on a motion for
reconsideration, it usually means that
the same judge in the same courthouse
is being asked to take another look at
the issue and to modify his prior order.
However, when an issue is presented as
a part of an appeal it generally means
the case is being referred to a higher
court where another judge or panel of
judges will be considering whether the
lower court judge made an erroneous decision.
Each state has a different system for
filing appeals. An appeal is generally
initiated by the filing of a notice of
appeal, the payment of a filing fee,
and the submission of various documents.
There are deadlines for filing an appeal,
and it is often very difficult to have
those deadlines extended. When an appeal
is filed, the appellate court will require
the person filing the appeal to submit
a copy of the transcripts of the proceeding
of the court below and eventually to
file a brief in support of the appeal,
along with an appendix of documents or
records to support the legal arguments.
In some states, some of these steps are
completed by a court clerk; in other
states, the party filing the appeal or
her lawyer are required to undertake
all of these steps.
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