Under clear error review, a finding stands unless the reviewing court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake was made. The standard applies to findings after a bench trial and to factual determinations generally.
Credibility determinations receive particular deference.
Alternative Names:
Clearly Erroneous Standard, Clear Error Review
Why it Matters?
The standard makes factual challenges after a bench trial nearly unwinnable, since a reviewing court will not reweigh evidence and credibility findings are essentially unreviewable. That reality shifts appellate effort toward legal questions reviewed de novo, and reframing a factual dispute as a legal error where accurate is what makes the challenge viable. Findings adopted verbatim from a party's proposed findings receive somewhat less deference in some circuits.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why are factual challenges rarely successful?
Do verbatim adopted findings receive less deference?
