appeals courts approach appellate decision making in different ways, depending on the types of questions presented for review on appeal. sometimes appellate courts are very deferential to what happened in lower courts, whereas other times they give no deference at all. how much deference or scrutiny an appellate court will afford to the decisions of a judge, jury, or administrative agency in an appeal is referred to as the standard of review. the least deferential standard of appellate review in criminal cases is