Appellate Practice

2034 ABA Journal Appellate Practice articles.

Scalia’s ‘Nixon-Goes-to-China Moment’

Justice Antonin Scalia, who at times has appeared indifferent and nearly hostile to the media, is set to appear on the prime time Sunday news program 60 Minutes later this month. The Blog of Legal Times characterized the news of Scalia’s appearance as “extraordinary” and called it the justice’s “Nixon-goes-to-China…

Apr 9, 2008 1:12 PM CDT

Wily Tax Attorney Helps Win IRS Case from Beyond the Grave

His own case is still ongoing, some seven years after his death. But tax attorney Burton Kanter’s wily plan for avoiding excessive payments in a nearly 20-year-old income tax matter has now been okayed by an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel hearing a co-defendant’s case. And that 11th…

Apr 7, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

Court Hears Appeal Today by Ex-Enron CEO

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling are asking a federal appeals court to overturn his conviction in oral arguments today. Experts told the Associated Press that Skilling has a good chance of winning his attack on the prosecution theory that he deprived the company of honest services. The New…

Apr 2, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Kansas Strikes ‘John Doe’ Rape Warrants

The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down arrest warrants in seven rape cases—reportedly the first in the country to charge someone’s DNA with a crime. In its ruling Friday, the high court said the warrants weren’t specific enough to meet legal standards, the Wichita Eagle reports. The paper notes that…

Mar 31, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

A Cowgirl Rides the Circuits

About a month before oral arguments in a key establishment clause case last year, Anthony R. Picarello Jr. opened the e-mail listing the names of the judges he would be facing on a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He could scarcely believe his eyes. Sitting by…

Mar 28, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Chastened Supreme Court Litigator Gets the ‘Right Flow’ in Latest Argument

Some justices’ questions bordered on brutal when they hammered away at an argument by U.S. Supreme Court litigator Eric Brunstad Jr. in a court appearance last month, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Things went better for Brunstad, a bankruptcy expert, when he appeared before the Supreme Court…

Mar 28, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Big Gun Case is 37-Year-Old Lawyer’s Supreme Court Debut

A phone call from a wealthy social acquaintance led to what presumably must be the biggest case in one 37-year-old Washington, D.C., lawyer’s professional life. Alan Gura was arguing yesterday before the U.S. Supreme Court a high-profile gun-ban case that attracted a lineup of would-be observers two days before oral…

Mar 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Appeals Court Blocks $5K a Day Fines Against Reporter

A federal appeals court has issued a stay blocking fines of up to $5,000 a day for a former USA Today reporter who did not reveal her sources for articles about the 2001 anthrax attacks. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay pending…

Mar 12, 2008 10:58 AM CDT

California’s Top Court is Most Influential, Kentucky’s is Least, Study Says

The California Supreme Court is the nation’s most influential state court and the Kentucky Supreme Court is the least, according to a study of citations recently published in a law review. California leads with the most opinions followed in a study of 65 years of decisions ending in 2005, the…

Mar 11, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Why Words Can Be Like Ugly Cravats: Justices Dish on Legal Writing

Eight U.S. Supreme Court justices come clean about their legal-writing pet peeves and their opinion-writing philosophies in “raw and unvarnished” videos posted to a linguist’s Web site. Lawyers who specialize in Supreme Court advocacy are scouring the videos, posted at LawProse.org, to divine the justices’ likes and dislikes, Legal Times…

Mar 10, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

Speeding Lawyer Not Fast Enough on Her Feet With Court Excuse

An Arkansas lawyer is facing a contempt of court charge after reportedly telling a Carroll County judge she couldn’t appear before him the next day because she was in St. Louis, awaiting a federal appeals court hearing. But after Cindy Baker was ticketed for speeding the next morning in northwest…

Mar 3, 2008 11:30 PM CST

Legal Costs in Sen. Craig’s Restroom Case Near $250,000

Ongoing litigation over Sen. Larry Craig’s disorderly conduct plea last year in a case sparked by a restroom sting operation hasn’t come cheap. Total legal costs for both sides are now nearing $250,000, as the Republican senator from Idaho continues to seek a Minnesota appellate court ruling that he can…

Feb 28, 2008 8:45 PM CST

Improper Faxed Notice Dooms Appeal of Pro Se Mom

A mother who says she was unable to contest the termination of her parental rights because she was involuntarily hospitalized has had her appeal tossed because she faxed rather than mailed her notice of appeal. The mother faxed the document 13 days after the final entry of judgment, one day…

Feb 22, 2008 1:27 PM CST

2nd Circuit: Lawyer ‘Failed Spectacularly’ in Immigration Case

Like too many other immigrants, Garfield Livern St. Valentine Aris was not well-served by a number of lawyers, the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says in an opinion yesterday. In fact, his initial counsel “failed spectacularly,” a three-judge appellate panel writes, after a paralegal misinformed him…

Feb 21, 2008 9:03 PM CST

Leniency Pleas for Judge Who Jailed 46 Over Ringing Cell Phone

A state commission on judicial conduct has recommended removal from office for a New York municipal jurist who jailed 46 people in what it terms “two hours of inexplicable madness” over a ringing cell phone. But amicus briefs from legal, judicial and civic groups are piling up in the case,…

Feb 20, 2008 8:07 PM CST

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