Reversal

REVERSE, REVERSAL - When an appellate court sets aside the decision of a lower court because of an error. A reversal is often followed by a remand.

If an appellate court rules that a trial court or lower appellate court made errors that may have caused an incorrect outcome in a case, the appellate court can do a number of things, including: * reverse (wipe out) the outcome and send the case back for a new trial, if the error occurred during trial; * substitute a new decision, if the error occurred at the first appeal, or; * modify the outcome, for example, reduce the amount of damages.

The decision of a superior court by which the judgment, sentence or decree of the inferior court is annulled.

After a judgment, sentence or decree has been rendered by the court below, a writ of error may be issued from the superior to the inferior tribunal, when the record and all proceedings are sent to the supreme court on the return to the writ of error. When, on the examination of the record, the superior court gives a judgment different from the inferior court, they are said to reverse the proceeding.

As used in opinions, judgments and mandates, changing to the contrarythe decision of a lower court or other body.