Can You Appeal the Outcome of a Family Court Ruling?
Unpacking Appeals in Alabama's Family Law: A guide to understanding your rights, navigating timelines, and maximizing legal support for favorable outcomes.
Family law is a difficult field. When you get embroiled in a contested divorce, child custody battle, or child protective services case, it can feel like all the cards are stacked against you. Thankfully, every Alabama resident has rights as well as responsibilities when it comes to family law. One of them is the right to obtain legal counsel in the form of a family court lawyer. Another is the right to appeal.
What Is an Appeal?
As in other legal fields, an appeal in a family court offers an opportunity to raise concerns about specific errors that occurred during litigation. In the context of divorce and child custody issues, parties that disagree with judges' rulings can move to vacate, amend, or alter them. If a trial court issues a divorce order, that order can also be appealed. Alabama laws refer to the person filing an appeal as an appellant and the other party as a respondent.
Grounds for Appeals in Family Law
The fact that you don't agree with a judge's decision doesn't necessarily mean that it can be appealed successfully. If you want to have a higher court review an issue related to the divorce, you'll need to prove to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals that the trial court abused its discretion. In other words, you have grounds for appeal only if the trial judge misinterpreted the facts of the case or incorrectly applied the higher court's laws or legal precedents.
Reasons to File an Appeal
Family court appeals are fairly commonplace because it is rarely the case that both parties walk away from a contested divorce feeling satisfied. Most appeals relate to child custody or support. However, divorce orders related to alimony, division of assets, or other issues are also grounds for appeal if the appellant can prove that they occurred as a result of a failure to consider all the facts or apply the law correctly.
Timelines for Filing an Appeal
If you want to file an appeal, you should take action as quickly as possible. You can ask to vacate, alter, or amend a court ruling by filing a Rule 59 motion within 30 days. Appellants appealing a trial court's divorce order have 42 days to file a Notice of Appeal. Once these deadlines have passed, you will forfeit your right to appeal.
What to Expect
Family court appeals don't result in new trials. Instead of re-examining evidence or reinterviewing witnesses, the higher court will simply check the record to determine whether the lower court judge misinterpreted the facts or incorrectly applied the higher court's laws. Your lawyer will also submit a written brief that explains the facts and legal points that support the appeal. You must serve the brief on the respondent in addition to filing it with the Appellate Division.
You shouldn't assume that the Court of Appeals focusing on issues with the application of the law rather than the facts of the case means that all matters of fact are excluded. If you have uncovered new, relevant facts during the period following the court order, you should include them in the appeal. The higher court will consider them during its review of the application, and they may impact how the court rules on the case. This process is referred to as modifying a decree.
Following the court's review of the original record and your written summary, the respondent will file a brief. You can also submit a brief in reply. Because of the complexity of these proceedings and the fact that all five judges on the Alabama Court of Appeals must review the relevant information, it can take several months to receive an opinion on the case.
Alternatives to Filing an Appeal
Filing an appeal can be time-consuming and expensive, so it's not always the best solution. You may also want to ask your lawyer about other viable alternatives that might fit the situation. Other options include:
- Requests to vacate a court judgment
- Requests for reconsideration of an order
- Filing for a new trial
In these cases, it may be possible to introduce new facts or change the legal strategy. You should also note that filing a Notice of Appeal will not automatically stop a court order from going into effect. To do that, you'll also have to apply for a stay. If granted, it will delay the court order from going into effect for a short period.
How to Appeal DHR Decisions
So far, this article has focused only on appealing divorce orders related to child custody, child support, or alimony. However, family courts also hear cases regarding child abuse and neglect brought by the Department of Human Resources (DHR). The state's Administrative Procedures Act details the requirements for challenging DHR administrative decisions. According to Ala. Code 41-22-20, you must file a notice of appeal with the circuit court that:
- Identifies you as the aggrieved party.
- Identifies the decision the court will need to review.
- Provides sufficient information to DHR regarding the requested judicial review of its decision.
As with divorce order appeals, you must file DHR appeals within 30 days of receiving the agency's final decision. In addition to the Notice of Appeal, you will need to file a petition that details the DHR's decision and why the court should review it. While you can't submit any new facts or information when seeking judicial review of a contested case, you can introduce evidence of misconduct or fraud regarding DHR personnel or point out procedural irregularities not contained in the official record.
The Importance of Hiring a Lawyer
If you plan to appeal, you should seek legal representation right away. A family law attorney can help you understand the available legal options, compose a brief, and meet all relevant deadlines. Whether you want a circuit court to review a DHR decision, appeal a trial court's divorce order, or file a Rule 59 motion, the process will go more smoothly with the help of a lawyer.
