Justice Stephen Breyer heard his last arguments yesterday as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States. With no disrespect to the remaining members of the Court or its soon-to-be newest justice, his retirement undoubtedly will leave the…
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May the record reflect…
On appeal, the record is your world. If it’s not in there, it didn’t happen in the appellate universe–even if it did happen in real life. Be sure you know when you start whose responsibility it is to ensure an…
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Appealing TROs: Some “Practical” Advice
When 1Ls receive assignments in persuasive legal writing and appellate advocacy, their professors will surely remind them that the appellate process typically begins after the trial court has issued a final and appealable order, from which the litigants can file…
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Why judicial deference matters
Public confidence in the United States Supreme Court is declining because many citizens believe that politics, not law, motivate the Court’s decisions.[1] That belief is not likely to improve, particularly as the Court prepares to issue decisions on abortion, the right to bear arms, and religious liberty, which may be decided by a single vote.
Part of the problem, aside from the fact that, on divisive social issues, the justices’ decisions so conveniently align with their policy predilections, is that the Court often gets involved when it should defer to the legislative and executive branches. Indeed, judicial deference can
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Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup, Friday, April 22
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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Always pencil in a question day
The best advice I ever got on oral argument was to set aside a full day to brainstorm questions that the court could ask. At first, it was a bit daunting; that’s a lot of time to spend trying to…
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Tongue-in-Cheek Answers to Bizarre Questions
Oral advocates often must resist the first answer that comes to mind from judges who are ill-prepared or concerned about an issue not presented by the case. The judges asking the questions will make the decision so counsel must fashion…
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Fifth & Seventh Circuits Uphold Sanctions for Seasoned Attorneys, Rejecting Their Requests for Relief Based on Their Experience–Part One
As a legal writing professor, I often blog about appellate work for new attorneys or law students. For my next two blogs, however, my comments definitely include newer lawyers and those of us (like me) who have lower bar numbers…
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Passim is now passe (Should the Table of Authorities in general fall with it?)
I apologize for being an errant blogger. Between grading appellate briefs, our intramural moot court competition, a raging sinus infection, and a certain junior associate’s fourth birthday, it has been a busy month. It has also been a busy month…
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The “It-Cleft” Sentence: Grammar Choice, Persuasive Effect
Thursday’s Raw 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. The “It-Cleft” Sentence: Grammar Choice, Persuasive Effect The Problem with “It Is” Modern legal…
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The Logic of a Courtroom, the Skewing Influence of Politics
As appellate advocates, we honor the rule of law because it depends on logic and reason. When we muster enough support in our favor, we expect a good result, even if we are sometimes disappointed in that expectation. The rule…
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Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup Friday, April 1, 2022
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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Managing Legal Editor Position at NITA
My good friends at NITA, who help edit and publish the Journal of Appellate Practice and Process are hiring a legal editor. The details are below. Please contact Gary Pope at [email protected] with question or to apply. Managing Legal Editor…
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A Few Thoughts on Ketanji Brown Jackson
The United States Senate should confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court. Judge Jackson unquestionably possesses the requisite qualifications, experience, and character. Robert Bork should have been confirmed too. And Brett Kavanaugh was rightly confirmed. The same…
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Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup, Friday, March 25
This week, the biggest news in the world of appellate advocacy was likely the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, which received broad coverage. Here are a few notable tidbits: Bloomberg Law article about important cases…
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The Case for a Public Law School Grad on the Court
Some months ago, prior to the announcement that Justice Breyer would retire from the Supreme Court, I wrote a blog post about diversity on the Court. Recognizing that race and gender understandably and correctly have been the two primary concerns…
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