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Appellate Law

An Appeal Is Not a Second Trial

T. Maxwell Smith· July 7, 2026· 1 min read

You do not get to re-argue the facts to a new jury. You argue the law and the record to judges.

People often expect an appeal to be a do-over. It is not. There are no witnesses and no new evidence — only the record made below and the law applied to it.

That makes appellate work a distinct craft, and it makes the trial record the foundation of everything that follows.

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