DE NOVO REVIEW Meaning and
Definition
-
De novo review is a legal term referring to a method of judicial review in which a court evaluates a case or legal issue as if it were being considered for the first time. In this type of review, the court examines the evidence, facts, and legal arguments presented in the case in an unbiased manner, without giving deference to any previous decisions made by lower courts or administrative bodies.
During de novo review, the court is not bound by any prior decisions or interpretations of the law, and is free to reach its own independent conclusion. This allows for a fresh evaluation of the case, without being influenced by prior decisions that may have been based on incorrect or outdated legal reasoning.
De novo review is often employed when a case is appealed from a lower court or administrative body and the higher court has the authority to make its own decision. It is commonly used in cases involving issues of law rather than factual disputes, as the focus is on determining whether the lower court or administrative body has properly interpreted and applied the law.
The purpose of de novo review is to ensure that the law is correctly applied and interpreted, and to provide parties with the opportunity to have their case reconsidered by a higher court without being bound by prior decisions. It allows for a fair and impartial evaluation of the legal issues at hand, which may ultimately result in a different outcome than the previous decision.
