Which term best describes the appellate court decision that leaves the lower court's ruling in place?

Which term best describes the appellate court decision that leaves the lower court's ruling in place?

• A. Remand
• B. Harmless error
• C. Reverse
• D. Affirm

Answer: (D)

Affirm means the appellate court agrees with the lower court’s ruling and leaves it in place. This happens when there’s no reversible error, or the errors found are deemed harmless and didn’t affect the outcome, so the original decision stands. By contrast, remand would send the case back to the lower court for further proceedings, and reverse would overturn the lower court’s ruling. Harmless error isn’t a type of decision by itself—it’s a standard used to decide whether an error at trial affected the result; if not, the appellate court can still affirm.

Affirm means the appellate court agrees with the lower court’s ruling and leaves it in place. This happens when there’s no reversible error, or the errors found are deemed harmless and didn’t affect the outcome, so the original decision stands. By contrast, remand would send the case back to the lower court for further proceedings, and reverse would overturn the lower court’s ruling. Harmless error isn’t a type of decision by itself—it’s a standard used to decide whether an error at trial affected the result; if not, the appellate court can still affirm.