<P> Also, at any time during this process from the filing of the complaint to the final judgment, the plaintiff may withdraw the complaint and end the whole matter, or the defendant may agree to a settlement . If the case settles, the parties might choose to enter into a stipulated judgment with the settlement agreement attached, or the plaintiff may simply file a voluntary dismissal, so that the settlement agreement is never entered into the court record . </P> <P> The decisions that the jury makes are not put into effect until the judge makes a judgment, which is the approval to have this trial information be filed in public records . In a civil case, the judge is allowed at this time to make changes to the verdict that the jury came up with by either adding on or reducing the punishment . In criminal cases the situation is a little different, because in this case the judge does not have the authority to change the jury decision . </P> <P> After a final decision has been made, either party or both may appeal from the judgment if they believe there had been a procedural error made by the trial court . It isn't necessarily an automatic appeal after every judgment has been made, however, if there is a legal basis for the appeal, then one has the right to do so . The prevailing party may appeal, for example, if they wanted a larger award than was granted . The appellate court (which may be structured as an intermediate appellate court) and / or a higher court then affirms the judgment, declines to hear it (which effectively affirms it), reverses--or vacates and remands . This process would then involve sending the lawsuit back to the lower trial court to address an unresolved issue, or possibly request for a whole new trial . Some lawsuits go up and down the appeals ladder repeatedly before final resolution . </P> <P> The appeal is a review for errors rather than a new trial, so the appellate court will defer to the discretion of the original trial court if an error is not clear . The initial step in making an appeal consists of the petitioner filing a notice of appeal and then sending in a brief, a written document stating reason for appeal, to the court . Decisions of the court can be made immediately after just reading the written brief, or there can also be oral arguments made by both parties involved in the appeal . The appellate court then makes the decision about what errors were made when the law was looked at more closely in the lower court . There were no errors made, the case would then end, but if the decision was reversed, the appellate court would then send the case back down to the lower court level . There, a new trial will be held and new information taken into account . </P>

What does a litigant who loses in a trial court have the right to in most situations