TIME MANAGEMENT AT ORAL ARGUMENT
All appellate arguments have predesignated time limits. Some basic principles will help the advocate make the most of the period...
KEEP THE COURT ON TRACK
An oral argument to an appellate court has many purposes. The advocate wants to present the essence of her case, rebut the essence of...
MAKE YOUR BRIEF EASY TO READ
You want judges to read your brief with care, but if it is hard on the eye or jarring to the internal ear, the judges are likely to skim...
DOUBLE STANDARD
On September 19, 2017, in American Beverage Association v. City and County of San Francisco, the United States Court of Appeals for the...
IT'S NOT JUST WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT
Imagine when a judge calls your case, the opposing attorney approaches the counsel table in a bizarre feathered outfit like the one in...
STANDARD OF REVIEW II: IF THERE IS NO WIND, ROW
In a recent post I explained the importance of standards of review in appellate practice. In brief, when it exercises deferential review,...
CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES MAY BE LURKING IN YOUR CASES
I recently chatted with a colleague representing a young boy with a chronic digestive disorder. The principal of his public school...
DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
One of the most frustrating events in the life of an appellate attorney occurs when a colleague asks us to appeal from an adverse...
STANDARD OF REVIEW
A scientist examining some aspect of nature has a range of optical implements at her disposal, such as a microscope, a magnifying glass,...
UNLUCKY ELEVEN
We all learned in grade school about the Bill of Rights, the first ten Amendments to the Constitution, which the Founding Fathers enacted...
