Abuse of discretion

"Abuse of discretion" is a legal standard used by appellate courts in reviewing many types of decisions made by trial courts. This standard is highly deferential in presuming that the trial court acted correctly. This standard creates a very high threshold for an appellant to surmount to overturn a trial decision.

Note, however, that "[a] district court by definition abuses its discretion when it makes an error of law." Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, 100 (1996). "[T]he abuse-of-discretion standard includes review to determine that the discretion was not guided by erroneous legal conclusions." Koon, 518 U.S. at 100.