Which term describes the appellate court's action of overturning a lower court's ruling?

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

Answer: (C)

Overturning a lower court’s ruling on appeal is called reversing the decision. In appellate review, the court checks for legal errors or misapplications of law. If it finds that the lower court erred in a way that affected the outcome, the appellate court reverses the ruling, meaning the lower court’s decision is set aside. Sometimes reversal is followed by remand, where the case goes back to the trial court for further action consistent with the appellate ruling. By contrast, to affirm is to uphold the lower court’s ruling, and harmless error refers to a mistake that didn’t actually affect the outcome, so it doesn’t trigger reversal.