The appellate court will typically be deferential to the lower court's findings of fact (such as whether a defendant committed a particular act), unless clearly erroneous, and so will focus on the court's application of the law to those facts (such as whether the act found by the court to have occurred fits a legal definition at issue).
ðɪ ɐpˈɛlət kˈoːɹt wɪl tˈɪpɪkli biː dˌɛfɚɹˈɛnʃəl tə ðə lˈoʊɚ kˈoːɹts fˈaɪndɪŋz ʌv fˈækt sˈʌtʃ ɐz wˈɛðɚɹ ɐ dᵻfˈɛndənt kəmˈɪɾᵻd ɐ pɚtˈɪkjʊlɚɹ ˈækt, ʌnlˈɛs klˈɪɹli ɛɹˈoʊniəs, ænd sˌoʊ wɪl fˈoʊkəs ɔnðə kˈoːɹts ˌæplɪkˈeɪʃən ʌvðə lˈɔː tə ðoʊz fˈækts sˈʌtʃ ɐz wˈɛðɚ ðɪ ˈækt fˈaʊnd baɪ ðə kˈoːɹt tə hæv əkˈɜːd fˈɪts ɐ lˈiːɡəl dˌɛfɪnˈɪʃən æɾ ˈɪʃuː.