Appellate Issue Spotter

After an adverse trial result, when evaluating whether and how to appeal.

Review the following trial record and identify appellate issues:

Case type: [CRIMINAL/CIVIL]
Trial court ruling(s) being challenged: [DESCRIBE]
Key rulings during trial: [LIST SIGNIFICANT RULINGS]
Objections made and preserved: [LIST WITH TRANSCRIPT REFERENCES]
Post-trial motions filed: [LIST]
Appellate court: [WHICH COURT]

For each potential appellate issue:
1. Issue statement — frame as a question the appellate court must answer
2. Preservation — was the issue properly preserved? Cite the specific objection or motion
3. Standard of review — de novo, abuse of discretion, clearly erroneous, plain error
4. Strength assessment — strong, moderate, or weak, with explanation
5. Key authority — leading cases on this issue in this jurisdiction
6. Argument summary — the core argument in 2-3 sentences
7. Risk — could raising this issue trigger any adverse consequences?

Rank issues from strongest to weakest. Recommend which to brief and which to abandon.

Trial record summary:
[PASTE KEY PORTIONS OF THE RECORD]

Example Output

An issue-spotting memo ranking 3-7 potential appellate issues with preservation analysis, standards of review, and strategic recommendations.

Tips

• •Preservation is everything on appeal — if the issue wasn't raised below, it's usually waived (absent plain error).
• •Less is more on appeal — briefing your 2-3 strongest issues is better than briefing 7 mediocre ones.
• •Check the specific appellate court's recent opinions on your issues — panels have preferences.

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