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 Kentucky, as in other states, civil litigation often concludes with a settlement between the parties before a trial is necessary. However, if a case does go to trial and a decision is rendered by a judge or jury, the losing party has the right to appeal to a higher court. In Kentucky, the next level of appeal after the circuit court is the Kentucky Court of Appeals. If a party is still dissatisfied with the outcome, they may request a review by the Kentucky Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the state's judicial system. The United States Supreme Court is the apex for federal cases. The standards of review used by appellate courts in Kentucky include 'abuse of discretion,' where the appellate court will only overturn the lower court's decision if it finds a clear abuse of discretion. Decisions may also be reviewed under the 'substantial evidence' standard, which examines whether there is sufficient evidence to support the lower court's findings. Some issues are reviewed 'de novo,' meaning the appellate court will consider them without deference to the lower court's conclusions. The standard applied depends on the nature of the decision being appealed.