By Dan Bushell

People make mistakes. Even lawyers. Even judges. We are all human after all, and to be human is to be fallible. In the pressure-packed environment of a trial or hearing, the probability that a mistake will be made is even greater.

Part of the job of an appellate lawyer is to comb through the record of what happened in the trial court, and with the benefit of a fresh perspective, find the errors, and explain to the appellate court what errors the trial judge made. But that is not the end of the story. Not even close. If it was, one would expect every appeal to result in reversal. The reality is otherwise.

Why? There are a host of reasons–ranging from the failure of the side that lost to preserve the issue (by making the argument to the trial judge) to the deference given to the trial judge in making certain decisions that he or she is in a better position to make–and there isn’t nearly enough space here to get into all of them.

The Harmless Error Doctrine

One of the most significant factors–at least when the decision being appealed was reached after a full-blown trial–is the doctrine of harmless error. It has been the subject of recent debate, and the Supreme Court of Florida is poised to set down the definitive word on the issue some time after it resumes its opinion cycle after the summer hiatus.

Harmless error, in a nutshell, is the idea that sometimes a trial judge’s ruling, even though incorrect, was too insignificant in the context of all of the trial evidence the jury saw to have impacted their decision. The doctrine exists because the law recognizes that trials are a tremendous ordeal and after so much effort by the parties, the trial judge, and the jury members, the results should not lightly be tossed aside.

After the two sides and the judge have spent so much time preparing for and conducting the trial, and the members of the jury have sacrificed their time to listen and deliberate and reach a decision, appellate courts are understandably hesitant to undo the result. On the other hand, the law is the law, and litigants have the right and expectation that the law will be applied correctly in their cases, whether or not that may cause inconvenience.

“Harmless error” is where appellate courts draw the line. In Florida, there is actually a statute that

Source: http://www.floridaappellatereview.com/general-civil-litigation/the-ultimate-question-when-is-a-mistake-fatal/