LEGAL PRINCIPLE: APPELLATE PRACTICE – Interference with Findings of Fact – Duty of Appellate Court – Restriction to Evidence on Record

Courts function as neutral umpires, not advocates or investigators. Courts must not: search for evidence on parties’ behalf, supply missing evidence, fill gaps in parties’ cases, or assist one party over another. The judicial role is: receiving evidence parties adduce, evaluating that evidence impartially, and applying law to proven facts. “Holding evenly the scale of justice” means: treating parties equally, maintaining neutrality, deciding based on evidence presented (not evidence courts wish existed), and ensuring fair process without favoring either side. This adversarial system principle requires: parties to present their own cases, bear their own proof burdens, and accept consequences of evidential deficiencies. Courts cannot: suggest evidence parties should adduce, indicate what proof is missing, or supplement parties’ cases. This serves: party autonomy, impartiality, and adversarial system integrity. The prohibition applies at all levels—trial and appellate courts must: work with evidence presented, not seek additional evidence, and maintain umpire neutrality. Parties bear responsibility for: identifying needed evidence, adducing it properly, and proving their cases. Courts decide based on what parties present, not what they should have presented.