Discretion - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Discretion is the power of a judge, public official or private party to act according to the dictates of their own judgment and conscience within general legal principles.�In�criminal�and�tort�law, discretion is the ability to judge between right and wrong, which is sufficient to hold one�liable�for one's own conduct.

For example, a judge may have discretion over the amount of a fine, a prosecutor may have discretion when prosecuting a criminal case.

Discretion is abused when the judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable.�If the plaintiff or the defendant thinks that the�trial court�judge has abused the discretion, the party can�appeal�the case. The�appellate�judge�s job is essentially to review whether the trial court judge has acted properly and correctly applied the law.�If reasonable men could differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.