8.5.9 STANDARD OFREVIEW or PLEADING STANDARD
As you read in Chapter Two, the standard of review is the framework within which the court makes its decision. You must tell the court what standard of review applies to any decision you are asking it to make.
As noted above, courts deciding a motion may refer to this standard as a “legal standard” a “motion standard,” or a “pleading standard.” You should use the term that the courts in your jurisdiction use.Generally, the standard can be dealt with in introductory material, in a somewhat summary fashion. Different issues may be subject to different facets of the standard. For example, in a motion to dismiss, you may be arguing that the complaint fails as to one issue because the facts pled were insufficient, and that it fails as to another issue because the law does not reach the facts of the case. In that situation, you could state the standard within the introductory material preceding each issue, emphasizing the appropriate aspect of the standard and citing to authority as appropriate. Chapter Ten discusses methods for incorporating the standard of review into introductory material; one of the sample briefs in Appendix C provides an illustration of this technique.