Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup April 13, 2018
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 to include, feel free to send Dan a quick email atDReal@Creighton.edu or a message on Twitter (@Daniel_L_Real).
Supreme Court Opinions and News:
From Reuters: Pace of Supreme Court slackens, showing signs that the Court is struggling to resolve some key big cases. So far this term, the Court has issued only 18 rulings in cases argued this term, fewer than usual at this point in the term. Of the yet unresolved cases, several are considered big cases, including electoral boundaries and gerrymandering cases, the high-profile religious liberty case involving a Christian baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, a case involving union fees, a case involving class-action claims against employers, a case involving the use of cellphone location data by law enforcement, and an abortion case. The slower pace seems likely attributed, in large part, to the 5-4 ideological split. Story: HERE.
From the AP: Justice Gorsuch is celebrating his one year anniversary on the Court this week. During that time, he’s heard arguments in more than 60 cases and, while it’s still early in his tenure on the Court, he appears to be delivering the reliably conservative vote that President Trump and his supporters had hoped for. The early reviews of his writing have received mixed reviews, with some readers appreciating his ability to reach audiences beyond law professors and experts and others highlighting his tendency to talk down to readers and even his colleagues on the other side of issues. More on his first year in the story: HERE.
From USAToday: Also discussing Justice Gorsuch’s first year on the Court. The general consensus of Gorsuch’s first year is that he has confirmed the hopes of conservatives for the direction of the Court and also confirmed the fears of liberals. Gorsuch has so far demonstrated that he is as committed to textualism and originalism as any member of the Court. Story: HERE.
Federal Appellate Court Opinions and News:
From Bloomberg: Several Circuit Courts of Appeal to watch. Several Circuit Courts of Appeal have several vacancies, allowing President Trump the opportunity to nominate enough Republican/conservative nominees to start shifting the balance on those courts. Currently, the Second, Third, and Eleventh Circuits have enough current vacancies that President Trump’s nominees could put that balance within striking distance. Additionally, there are numerous vacancies right now on the Ninth Circuit, allowing President Trump the opportunity to more than double the number of Republican appointees. Story: HERE.
New Federal Appellate Court Nominees. On Tuesday, the White House issued a press release announcing a wave of new nominees for vacancies on the various federal benches, including Circuit Courts of Appeal. Release: HERE.
Practice tips and pointers:
A lesson in tailoring your writing style to the needs of your audience: A Family Court judge in England recently issued an opinion in a case involving the question of whether to establish a plan to allow a young child to be adopted, rather than returned to his biological family. The biological parents suffer from learning disabilities, and the judge tailored the opinion to be accessible and meaningful to them, providing a great illustration of tailoring your writing to meet your audience’s needs. Opinion: HERE.
From How Appealing: Appellate E-Filing Evolves in the Third Circuit and Pennsylvania State Courts. Howard Bashman, a longtime and enthusiastic supporter of electronic filing on appeal, discusses how the process has evolved over the last several years in both the Third Circuit and Pennsylvania’s state appellate court, and advises attorneys practicing in either to become familiar with the process and system and get upgraded to the new system as soon as possible. Story: HERE.
From Legal Writing Pro: Judges Speak Out Behind Closed Doors. Ross Guberman surveyed thousands of judges about what lawyers do in briefs that bug them and what they would like to see lawyers do more of. The tips include a variety of style matters – including use of the Oxford comma, putting citations in the text and not in footnotes, and holding on to the practice of placing two spaces after periods – finding appropriate tone, and being concise. Article: HERE.