Appellate Practice

Texas court tosses sentence of state’s longest-serving death row inmate

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the sentence of the state’s longest-serving death row inmate.

Apr 16, 2021 10:28 AM CDT

In rare move, full 6th Circuit will hear initial arguments in abortion case; dissent blasts ‘procedural hopscotch’

In an unusual move, the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati will consider the constitutionality of a Tennessee abortion law without an initial ruling by a three-judge panel.

Apr 13, 2021 1:33 PM CDT

Amy Breihan has dedicated her career to helping juvenile lifers seek parole

It’s been nearly nine years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life without parole for juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment. It’s been five years since it held in Montgomery v. Louisiana that its 2012 decision was retroactive. In that time, Amy Breihan has helped seek second chances for prisoners in Missouri who were younger than age 18 when they were sentenced to life behind bars.

Mar 30, 2021 8:56 AM CDT

The pandemic has not slowed down Howard Bashman of How Appealing

Howard Bashman of How Appealing discusses blogging during COVID-19 and how appellate work in Pennsylvania has changed in the pandemic.

Mar 29, 2021 9:05 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: State supreme court limits use of bail; prosecutors in this state may face stricter discipline

California judges must consider defendant’s ability to pay when setting bail, ruling says The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to keep criminal defendants behind bars simply because they cannot afford to post bail. The decision upholds an earlier ruling that ordered a new bail hearing for…

Mar 26, 2021 3:14 PM CDT

Voluntarily intoxicated rape victims aren’t ‘mentally incapacitated,’ top state court rules

Victims who willingly consume alcohol or drugs before they are sexually assaulted aren’t “mentally incapacitated,” the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Mar 26, 2021 12:27 PM CDT

Secret camera recordings can be used against nanny at trial, state supreme court says

A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday that secretly recorded audio can be used against a nanny accused of assaulting three young children.

Mar 26, 2021 9:50 AM CDT

3rd Circuit calls out lawyer for ‘copy-and-paste’ appeal, orders him to pay attorney fees

A federal appeals court has ordered a Pennsylvania lawyer to pay his opponents’ appellate legal fees for filing a “frivolous” appeal and submitting a brief “that was essentially a copy of the one he filed in the district court.”

Mar 23, 2021 11:34 AM CDT

Don’t use this typeface if you want to please the DC Circuit

Brief writers take note: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit doesn’t like the Garamond typeface.

Mar 18, 2021 10:21 AM CDT

Justice Thomas goes rogue on the Bluebook with ‘cleaned up’ citation—to the delight of appellate lawyers

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas went rogue on the Bluebook when he embraced an appellate lawyer’s suggestion for dealing with “citation baggage” that comes with some quoted material.

Mar 15, 2021 12:35 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge orders negotiation on ‘race-norming’ claim in NFL case; judiciary considers amicus disclosure

Judge tosses challenge to ‘race-norming’ in dementia tests U.S. District Judge Anita Brody of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has dismissed a lawsuit challenging “race-norming” in dementia tests used to determine which retired NFL players qualify for compensation in a concussion settlement. Brody said the league and the class counsel…

Mar 9, 2021 3:03 PM CST

6th Circuit judges trade barbs over references to Marshall Project, Grateful Dead in compassionate release request

Appeals judges ruling on a federal prisoner’s compassionate release request agreed that it should be denied but disagreed over sourcing in a dispute played out in a concurring opinion and a footnote.

Mar 9, 2021 11:56 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer gives frank reply to Justice Barrett; new site has law school scholarship information

GOP lawyer gives candid answer to Justice Barrett A lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party gave a frank answer in oral arguments Tuesday when Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked why the GOP didn’t want to count votes cast in the wrong precinct on Election Day. “Because it puts us at…

Mar 3, 2021 4:30 PM CST

House panel considers reforms to deal with Supreme Court’s shadow docket

Lawmakers expressed concerns about the U.S. Supreme Court’s shadow docket of emergency opinions during a hearing Thursday by a House judiciary subcommittee.

Feb 19, 2021 9:38 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: BigLaw firm partners with startup in pipeline program; Trump lawyer’s home vandalized

BigLaw firm partners with Legal Innovators in pipeline program Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is partnering on a pipeline program with Legal Innovators, a startup alternative legal services provider that hires and trains law grads who can be competitive in BigLaw, despite graduating from outside the nation’s top 25 law schools.…

Feb 16, 2021 4:50 PM CST