Q: Can a judge after passing an order on a case come back and change that order in an effort to stop the appeals process
A:
It depends primarily on three factors: 1. is the appeal from a district court to a circuit court or from a circuit court to a higher court, 2. has the record been sent to the higher court, and 3. is the alteration substantive or merely the correction of a clerical error.
There simply is not enough space here to explain number one. For number two once the records have been sent to the next higher court, the lower court's ability to alter that order become greatly diminished. For number 3, regardless of numbers one and two if the change to the order is to fix a clerical error the judge will always have broad discretion to enter the fix.
If a judge changes an order for the primary purpose of stopping an appeal that would be quite unusual.
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