Page "Appellate procedure in the United States" Paragraph 55

In some cases, an application for " trial de novo " effectively erases the prior trial as if it had never taken place.

The Supreme Court of Virginia has stated that '" This Court has repeatedly held that the effect of an appeal to circuit court is to " annul the judgment of the inferior tribunal as completely as if there had been no previous trial.

"' The only exception to this is that if a defendant appeals a conviction for a crime having multiple levels of offenses, where they are convicted on a lesser offense, the appeal is of the lesser offense ; the conviction represents an acquittal of the more serious offenses.

" trial on the same charges in the circuit court does not violate double jeopardy principles,.

subject only to the limitation that conviction in district court for an offense lesser included in the one charged constitutes an acquittal of the greater offense,