Howard Bashman's article, "Waiving Goodbye to Your Best Issues on Appeal," begins like this:
What issues can a losing party raise on appeal? With very few exceptions, only those issues that the losing party has properly preserved while the case was pending before the trial court. This so-called "raise-or-waive" rule is a central precept of appellate litigation in the United States.
According to Bashman, "As commonly understood and applied, the raise-or-waive rule is fair both to the parties and the trial court. Finding an issue waived on appeal is, however, a harsh remedy, and therefore appellate courts should resist the temptation to expand the rules that allow for a finding of waiver beyond their usual boundaries."
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