What happens when a victim appeals to a Circuit Court?

When a victim appeals to a Circuit Court, the court's primary function is to review the case for legal errors that may have occurred during the initial trial. This process involves examining the lower court's proceedings, including the application of the law, the admission of evidence, and the jury instructions, to determine if any mistakes were made that could have affected the outcome of the case.

The Circuit Court does not automatically retry the case. Instead, it focuses on whether the law was correctly interpreted and applied. If legal errors are found, the original ruling may be overturned or modified, but that is not guaranteed, as the court's role is not to reassess the case's facts or evidence anew.

In this context, the original ruling is not nullified simply because an appeal has been filed; it remains in effect unless the appellate court explicitly decides to change it due to identified legal errors. Additionally, while appellate courts can influence legal precedents, they do not create new laws; rather, they interpret existing laws as they pertain to specific cases before them. Therefore, the review for legal errors is the accurate representation of what occurs when an appeal is made to a Circuit Court.