Opinion ID: 390302
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Review of Discretion

Text: 8 The broadcasters concede that there is no constitutional right to copy the tapes and that even under the common law right on which they rely, there is no absolute right to release of the tapes. Since all parties agree that release of the tapes is a matter committed to the discretion of the trial court, we must first consider our scope of review. 9 The mere statement that a decision lies within the discretion of the trial court does little to shed light on its reviewability. It means merely that the decision is uncontrolled by fixed principles or rules of law. See Rosenberg, Judicial Discretion of the Trial Court, Viewed from Above, 22 Syracuse L.Rev. 635, 636-43 (1971). See also material compiled in R. Aldisert, The Judicial Process 742-76 (1976). In our judicial system, a wide variety of decisions covering a broad range of subject matters, both procedural and substantive, is left to the discretion of the trial court. The justifications for committing decisions to the discretion of the court are not uniform, and may vary with the specific type of decisions. 3 Although the standard of review in such instances is generally framed as abuse of discretion, in fact the scope of review will be directly related to the reason why that category or type of decision is committed to the trial court's discretion in the first instance. 10 Perhaps the most common category of decisions committed to the discretion of the trial court encompasses those situations where the decision depends on first-hand observation or direct contact with the litigation. Only the trial judge has seen the witness or observed the jury's reaction to evidence. Only the trial judge has supervised the course of litigation through discovery and pretrial, and can evaluate the diligence or procrastination of the attorneys. In those circumstances the trial court has a superior vantage point which an appellate court cannot replicate. The trial court's decision therefore merits a high degree of insulation from appellate revision. Rulings on evidentiary matters, discovery, and procedural issues fall in this category. 11 On the other hand, discretion is sometimes committed to the trial judge because of pragmatic considerations. When circumstances are either so variable or so new that it is not yet advisable to frame a binding rule of law, trial courts may be given discretion until the factors important to a decision and the weight to be accorded them emerge from the montage of fact patterns which arise. See Rosenberg, supra, at 662-63. Often, in time, the contours of a guiding rule or even principle may develop as the courts begin to identify the policies which should control. Thus, for example, although the selection of an appropriate remedy has been generally deemed to lie in the equitable discretion of the trial judge, after experience has accumulated the appellate courts may decide that a specific remedy should be awarded as a general rule. See, e. g., Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 418-19, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 2372, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975) (presumptive right to a backpay order as a remedy for unlawful discrimination). Similarly, award of attorney's fees is generally conceded to lie in the discretion of the trial court but such discretion has been restricted as the factors to be considered are identified and as guidelines are developed. See, e. g., Lindy Bros. Builders, Inc. v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp., 487 F.2d 161 (3d Cir. 1973). 12 Commitment to discretion implicates conflicting policy considerations. On one hand, commitment to discretion vests the adjudicator with the flexibility necessary to fit the decision to the individualized circumstances. On the other hand, there are countervailing considerations that militate against an expansive delegation of discretion to the trial court. Among the more persuasive reasons for caution is the concern that commitment to discretion may be antithetical to consistency of treatment, a major ingredient of justice. See K. Davis, Discretionary Justice: A Preliminary Inquiry 107 (1969). Similarly, there is a disturbing lack of predictability about the results of discretionary decisions. See id. at 29-33. Additionally, unreviewable discretion offends a deep sense of fitness in our view of the administration of justice. Rosenberg, supra, at 641-42. There is a general feeling that the losing litigant should not be deprived of at least one opportunity for review of each significant ruling made by a single judge. Id. at 642. Thus, where the basis for commitment of a decision to a trial court's discretion is not dependent on its observation or familiarity with the course of the litigation, there are less compelling reasons for limited appellate review. 4 13 In the matter before us on this appeal, the decision whether to release the tapes was not dependent in the main on particular observations of the trial court. Therefore, the trial court's decision is not accorded the narrow review reserved for discretionary decisions based on first-hand observations, and we must consider both the relevance and weight of the factors considered. Our review is facilitated because Judge Fullam clearly and succinctly expressed the bases for his decision denying release. 14 We note that until or unless guiding rules have become fixed, it is important that the exercise of discretion be accompanied by the trial court's articulation of the factors considered and the weight accorded to them, as was done in this case. Superficially, it might appear that such an articulation would encourage appellate revision while an unarticulated decision might evade review. In fact, however, articulation of the reasons for the decision tends to provide a firm base for an appellate judgment that discretion was soundly exercised. It confines review of the exercise of discretion to its appropriate scope i. e., whether the relevant factors were considered and given appropriate weight and discourages reversal on the ground that the appellate judges might have decided differently had they been the original decisionmakers. We turn then to consideration of the relevant factors.