Post-Trial and Appeals
Standards of Review
Preservation generally requires a timely, specific objection or motion identifying the ground, and where evidence was excluded, an offer of proof showing what it would have established.
Unpreserved issues are reviewable only for plain error, if at all, in civil cases.
Alternative Names:
Error Preservation, Preserving the Record
Why it Matters?
Appeals are won and lost during trial through preservation, and the failures are consistent: general objections that do not state a ground, no offer of proof after exclusion, no renewed Rule 50 motion, and no objection to jury instructions before deliberation. Each forfeits an issue that was otherwise meritorious. Assigning someone to track preservation during trial is worth the cost in any case likely to be appealed.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common preservation failures?
Is plain error review available in civil cases?
