Focus Groups as a Trial-Preparation Tool | Elizabeth Larrick | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Navigating Federal Tort Claims on a National Scale | Tom Jacob | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Tackling Bullying in the Legal Profession | Scott Stolley | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
A Longtime Trial Judge’s View from the Appellate Bench | Justice Gisela Triana | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Inside the Fourth Court of Appeals’ Clerk’s Office | Michael Cruz | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
It’s not every day that the Court of Appeals spends almost 12 pages talking about the appellate rules, including why rules compliance is so important. But that’s exactly what the Court of Appeals did in Harney v. Harney. ...more
On November 22, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit proposed an amendment to 5th Cir. Rule 32.3 and Form 6, which would have introduced a requirement for attorneys to certify the extent to which...more
Preparation is the key to winning at trial, and focus groups are a powerful tool for ensuring that a case is trial-ready. In this episode of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast, hosts Todd Smith and Jody Sanders visit with...more
Suing the federal government can be a daunting task. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with Tom Jacob, a partner at National Trial Law in Austin, Texas, to discuss the intricacies of litigating cases under...more
There has been a great deal of controversy about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all facets of life and now the legal field. My own firm has certain very restrictive rules about lawyers using AI, especially when...more
In this episode, seasoned appellate practitioner Scott Stolley sits down with Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to confront the issue of bullying in the legal profession. Scott explores the multifaceted nature of bullying, from...more
Few Texas judges have seen the courtroom from as many perspectives as Third Court of Appeals Justice Gisela Triana. From a practitioner, to a municipal judge, to a trial court judge on various benches, Justice Triana has...more
In a world of electronic filing, fewer attorneys see appellate court clerks in person. It’s easy to forget how critical their role is to keeping the courts open, efficient, and accessible. In this episode, Michael Cruz, clerk...more
Many jurisdictions have rules that allow an appellate court to affirm a judgment for any reason supported by the record, regardless of the actual basis articulated by the trial court. This general rule, however, is not...more
The Texas Supreme Court has unveiled a change to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.3 to implement recent legislation requiring the state’s 14 intermediate appellate courts to explain themselves when denying petitions for...more
We previously posted on Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(i), which is the rule governing the adoption of part or all of another’s brief. We initially looked at decisions addressing the burden on a party to...more
Most practitioners are likely happy to have limited familiarity with Rule 4(a)(6) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Rule allows the district court, in its discretion, to reopen for 14 days a party’s time to...more
While the Rolling Stones may have believed that time was on their side, today the Court of Appeals reminded prospective appellants that, when faced with a deadline for filing a Notice of Appeal, time is definitely not on...more
If you need to appeal the outcome of your federal criminal case, you have lots of factors to consider. While there are a variety of grounds for pursuing appeals, not all grounds are available in all cases; and, even if you...more
Getting convicted for a federal crime in district court is not a situation that defendants want to find themselves in. However, the conviction or the sentence that it leads to do not have to be the end of your case. You have...more
There are a number of reasons why parties in a civil case might consider filing a post-judgment motion before appealing an adverse decision. In fact, sometimes, a post-judgment motion is required to preserve an issue for...more
Sometimes due to factors out of our control, we are faced with having to file an appeal from a final judgment after the appeal period has already passed. Is this allowed? Sometimes. Is all hope lost? Not necessarily. Here are...more
As an appellate lawyer with considerable experience in both state and federal appellate courts, I often receive calls from colleagues who are either in the midst of trying a case, or who have just received a decision or...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit may “award just damages and single or double costs to the appellee” under the Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 38 if an appeal is frivolous as filed or as argued. In a...more
This blog post is a mishmash of news and updates. —Remote Oral Argument in Harper v. Hall (N.C. Congressional Maps Case). After a Supreme Court remand, the trial court entered an order upholding North Carolina’s...more
Businesses and attorneys alike have kept a close eye on the developments surrounding the challenge to California Assembly Bill 51 (now codified as Labor Code section 432.6). Most recently, in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit...more
“Sticks and stones may break my bones … but [sharp] words [from the Federal Circuit] will make me wish I never went to law school.” The judges of the Federal Circuit understandably become frustrated when attorneys...more
Multiple groups of petitioners in the newly consolidated litigation and renamed challenge to the OSHA ETS, now known as the “OSHA Covid Rule Case,” Docket No, 21-7000, MCP No. 165 (6th Cir.) have asked the court to hear the...more
Four separate groups of petitioners challenging the OSHA ETS, including a coalition of 27 states, have asked the court to hear the OSHA challenge en banc, arguing that the case involves a question of exceptional importance in...more
We previously wrote about the requirements for joining in a co-party’s brief or motion to avoid waiver issues. Since our original post, federal appellate courts have continued to hold that a party who seeks to adopt the...more