In civil litigation, most lawsuits are resolved by the voluntary agreement (settlement) of the parties (litigants) before the judge, jury, or arbitrator decides how the case should be resolved. But if a case goes to trial and the judge or jury decides how the case should be resolved, one or more parties to the lawsuit may appeal that decision to a higher court—usually a court of appeals, whether in the state court system or the federal court system.

And one or more of the parties who are dissatisfied with the decision of the court of appeals generally may ask the highest court in the jurisdiction (state court or federal court) to review the decision of the lower court(s). The highest court in the state court system is often called the supreme court—but in some states it has a different name—for example, in New York it is called the New York Court of Appeals. And in the federal court system the highest court is the United States Supreme Court.

There are different standards by which higher courts review the decisions of lower courts, and these are known as standards of review. In many cases appellate courts are required to give deference to the decision made by the jury or the lower court.

These decisions are reviewed for an abuse of discretion, and the higher court will only reverse the lower court’s decision if it determines the lower court abused its discretion. And in some states certain decisions made by the lower court or the jury are reviewed using a substantial evidence standard, and the question for the higher court is whether there is substantial evidence to support the decision of the lower court or the jury.

Finally, some decisions are reviewed without giving deference to the decision made by the jury or the lower court, and this standard of review is called de novo review.

In Louisiana, as in other states, civil litigation often concludes with a settlement between the parties before a judge or jury renders a verdict. However, if a case proceeds to trial and a decision is made, the dissatisfied party may appeal to a higher court. In Louisiana, the first level of appeal would typically be to the Court of Appeal. If a party is still dissatisfied, they may seek further review from the Louisiana Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the state's judicial system. At the federal level, the ultimate appellate authority is the United States Supreme Court. The standards of review used by appellate courts in Louisiana include 'abuse of discretion' for decisions that require a high level of judicial discretion, 'substantial evidence' for fact-based determinations, and 'de novo' for issues of law, where the appellate court gives no deference to the lower court's decision. These standards guide how appellate courts review and potentially overturn lower court decisions.