ASK ANGIE^TM
By Angela Hallier, Esq.
Answers to your divorce and family law questions

Q My Husband and I could not settle our divorce case so we had a trial. The judge has now ruled and I do not agree with the rulings. What can I do?

A Because in divorce trials there is no jury, the judge is the one who decides what "facts" or evidence to believe and, after doing so, applies the law to those facts to make rulings. You have a number of options for requesting the rulings be changed, including:

1) A "Motion for Reconsideration" gives your judge an opportunity to "rethink" and make changes to the rulings he or she rendered. If the judge made an inadvertent error, or overlooked evidence that if considered would have changed the decision, the judge might modify his or her rulings based on such a motion. However, if there was any evidence at the trial which supports the judge's rulings, and the law was applied correctly, this type of motion is unlikely to lead to the judge changing his or her initial ruling.

2) A "Motion for New Trial" is also directed to the judge who made the rulings in your case, and is a request for a "second" trial on one or more of the issues already presented. This type of request can be used for the same reasons as a Motion for Reconsideration, and can also be used in circumstances where you have discovered information after the trial which could change the outcome but which you could not have known at the time of trial, where there has been misconduct by one of the litigants, where a party was deprived of a fair trial, or where the judge made an error in accepting or denying the admission of evidence.

3) An "Appeal" of your judge's decision is made to a separate "Court of Appeals". That court will review what the judge in your case did and, if convinced an error was made, will either overturn the judge's decision or send the case back to the judge with instructions on how the mistake is to be corrected. If the evidence presented at trial supports the court's factual findings, the appellate court will likely not disturb the judge's ruling. If, on the other hand, the judge made an error in applying the law, you have a greater likelihood of obtaining relief from the appellate court. If the Court of Appeals does not grant you the relief you seek, you have the option of then appealing your case to the Arizona Supreme Court. However, unlike the Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court does not have to accept for review all cases that come before it, and generally only takes those cases that it deems to be of "state-wide importance", which are very few.

None of these post-decision requests allow you to add new evidence to your case (except in the limited circumstances discussed above). There are also other types of post-decision motions that might be helpful in your particular case. Consult with your attorney before moving forward with any such motion or appeal. Strict time limit deadlines may apply and attorneys' fees related to such actions can be significant. You must weigh the cost of taking such action against the possibility of obtaining the outcome you seek.

It is always advisable to seek the counsel of a qualified attorney who can advise you specifically about your case. The information in this column is provided for general information only in the state of Arizona, is not specific to any one case and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader. ©2003 - 2008 Hallier Law Firm PLC

ASK ANGIE^TM is published monthly in Arizona Trends Magazine.