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 North Carolina, civil litigation often concludes with a settlement between the parties before a case reaches a verdict by a judge or jury. However, if a case does go to trial and a party is dissatisfied with the outcome, they have the right to appeal to a higher court. In North Carolina, the first level of appeal would typically be to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. If a party is still dissatisfied with the outcome after the appellate court's decision, they may petition the North Carolina Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the state's judicial system. At the federal level, the ultimate appellate court is the United States Supreme Court. The standards of review used by appellate courts in North Carolina include 'abuse of discretion,' where the appellate court will only overturn a lower court's decision if it finds that the lower court made a decision that was not within the range of reasonable choices. Decisions may also be reviewed under the 'substantial evidence' standard, where the appellate court determines if there is enough evidence to support the lower court's or jury's decision. Lastly, some issues are reviewed 'de novo,' which means the appellate court considers the matter anew, without giving deference to the lower court's decision.