In the next few weeks, a new class of law students will flock to law school campuses for orientation and the start of classes. If you are one of those new students–welcome! Over the next few weeks, you will be…
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Agency Deference and Statutory Interpretation
Courts often defer to administrative agencies on matters that require the agency’s specialized expertise. Yet even the embattled Chevron deference doctrine[1] puts the brakes on judicial deference sensibly when Congress has spoken on the matter. After all, the statute’s meaning…
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Putting the Audience First: The Writing Tactic of Restatement
Thursday’s Rhaw Bar: A Little Bite of All Things Rhetoric and Law—exploring ideas, theories, strategies, techniques, and critiques at the intersection of rhetoric and legal communication. Putting the Audience First: The Writing Tactic of Restatement In May, I wrote the…
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The Hallmarks of a Great Appellate Brief
Writing an excellent appellate brief is an arduous task. The quality of your writing, coupled with how you organize and present your arguments, can make the difference between winning and losing. Below are a few tips that can enhance the…
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More Than "Just the Facts": Writing Persuasive Fact Statements
One of the most overlooked sections of an appellate brief is the Statement of Facts. But it shouldn’t be. A good Statement of Facts can get a judge on your side before he or she even reads the Argument. Part…
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Writing like Chief Justice Roberts
Chief Justice Roberts–along with Justice Kagan–has long been reputed to be one of the best writers on the current court. This week I’m going to take a look at Chief Justice Roberts’s style using his majority opinion in Trump v….
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Tackling a New Area of Law on Appeal Without Fear
Subject-matter specialists might seem to have an advantage over a generalist on appeal. They would seem to have unmatched familiarity with the underlying statutes and caselaw. In specialty courts, such as the Federal Circuit, focused advocates may stand on a…
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In Praise of Bryan Garner’s Approach to Minimizing Passive Voice
Many of my students believe I “prohibit” any use of passive voice. I certainly discourage passive voice, especially in objective writing. As I explained in past blogs, I even use E-Prime sometimes, avoiding “to be” verbs to assist with clarity….
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Writing like Justice Barrett
After a three-part series on Justice Kagan, I decided to pick apart the newest justice’s writing style. As this post will show, Justice Barrett shares some techniques with Justice Kagan, but executes them in a very different way and delivers…
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Journal of Appellate Practice and Process Volume 22 Issue 2
The Summer 2022 issue of The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process (Volume 22, Issue 2) is now available. This issue features the following articles: Foreword: Words Matter, by Tessa L. Dysart All Mixed Up About Statutes: Distinguishing Interpretation From…
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Too many (foot)notes
In the play and movie, Amadeus, Mozart proudly debuts one of his new compositions for the emperor. The emperor’s verdict took Mozart by surprise. The composition was fine, the emperor intoned, but it suffered from “too many notes.” In providing some “helpful” criticism, the emperor advises, “cut a few and it will be perfect.”
While briefs do not approach the timelessness or artistry of a Mozart opera, courts and judges sometimes offer the same critique: “too many (foot)notes.” The judicial critique can have more validity than the emperor’s issue in Amadeus. The federal court in the District of Columbia, as
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A Few Thoughts on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, in so doing, sparked impassioned reaction in the United States. Below are a few thoughts on the decision. 1. The…
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Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup Friday, July 1
Each week, the Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup presents a few tidbits of news and Twitter posts from the past week concerning appellate advocacy. As always, if you see something during the week that you think we should be sure…
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Miranda Warnings Are A Right Without A Remedy
Last week’s decision in Vega v. Tekoh did not, on its own, monumentally change the Miranda warnings made famous in pop culture for half a century. Government investigators should still provide the same basic recitation of rights to a suspect…
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Bluebooking
A recurring discussion on #AppellateTwitter and #LegalWriting Twitter is the importance (or lack thereof) of proper citation format. A recent post said that time spent learning to cite properly was not time well spent. I don’t take the author of…
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Arguing History
In writing today’s post, it is difficult to overlook the Supreme Court’s predictable rulings on abortion and guns, with a less certain but likely precedent-shattering decision on coach-led public-school prayer. Others will critique the decisions, extrapolate their consequences for issues…
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