Affirmance leaves the judgment in place. The court may affirm on grounds different from those the lower court relied upon, since an appellee may defend the judgment on any basis supported by the record.
Partial affirmance is common in multi-issue appeals.
Alternative Names:
Affirmed, Judgment Affirmed
Why it Matters?
Affirmance on alternative grounds is worth arguing in the brief, since the appellate court may uphold a correct result reached for the wrong reason and the appellee does not need a cross-appeal to raise it. Identifying every record-supported basis for the judgment gives the panel options where the trial court's stated rationale is weak. Summary affirmance without opinion is common and produces no precedential guidance.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Can a judgment be affirmed on different grounds?
Why argue alternative grounds?
