A dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals has long been a litigant’s Golden Ticket, at least until a recent statutory change. The mere existence of the dissent bestowed an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court of...more
Civil lawyers love written notices of appeal. Have you ever heard a civil attorney say, “I wish I could orally notice an appeal”? Me neither. But the criminal trial bar overwhelmingly give oral notices of appeal in state...more
Big news out of the Court of Appeals for criminal practitioners. In State v. McLean, the Court of Appeals addressed a notice of appeal that was given orally the day after the trial ended and the defendant was sentenced. There...more
Long-time readers of this blog may remember the fun I’ve had finding photos reflecting the ups and downs of en banc rehearing in the Court of Appeals. The General Assembly first authorized en banc review in 2016, with the...more
Can an appellee say that the lower court got it wrong? If so, when? In many appeals, the alignment of interests is clear: the appellant is the party who disagrees with the ruling at issue, and the appellee is the party who...more
2024 amendment: Unveiling unpublished opinions - The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s recent amendment to Rule 1.200 on February 26, 2024, continues the court’s shift towards judicial modernization and transparency, allowing...more
In the days before digital printers, anyone who appealed a trial court ruling needed to find a printing company to print both his appellate brief and the record of the trial on an actual printing press so that it could be...more
The Appellate Rules Committee, of which I am currently chair, has been busy considering various amendments to the rules. The Committee has recommended certain changes, and the Supreme Judicial Court has now proposed...more
“Over there” in this context refers to the Orphans’ Court – theoretically a “division” of the Court of Common Pleas (the trial court) in each Pennsylvania county. Orphans’ Court matters include adoptions, name changes, will...more
The Commission on Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure, created by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2021, and tasked with considering whether the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure (“NRAP”) should be updated, recently filed a...more
The year 2024 holds the potential for significant developments in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism. With the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February, members may reach agreements...more
Thirty years ago, Justice Scalia famously described the Supreme Court’s Lemon test as “some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed and...more
Litigating in Florida state court can be a slog. Cases move slowly, discovery can be a hassle, and scheduling is sometimes a headache. Yet judges aren’t to blame—Florida trial courts are overloaded and under-resourced. ...more
If there’s one thing readers of this blog can count on, it is that every even-numbered year ends with a gush of opinions from both appellate courts as the judges and justices strive to finish the year’s work before new...more
When Can I File An Appeal? The short answer to this question is that, in most cases, you can only file an appeal from a final judgment. P.B. § 61-1; State v. Curcio, 191 Conn. 27, 30 (1983) (“The statutory right to...more
Restricted Appeals A restricted appeal is a direct attack on a judgment. To be entitled to a restricted appeal, an appellant must demonstrate several elements described below. ...more
The Advisory Committee on the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, of which I am a member, has been working with the SJC on potential changes to the rules. The Court has made the proposals publicly available, and has invited...more
Some Florida practitioners and appellate courts have long pointed to the need to amend the rules of appellate procedure to allow for an interlocutory appeal of an order granting or denying a motion for leave to amend to...more
On November 10, 2021, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck down the Acting Secretary of the Department of Health’s Order Directing Face Coverings in School Entities (“Masking Order”) in Corman, et al. v. Acting...more
In many personal injury cases, including products cases, the most significant exposure is pain and suffering or similar damages that cannot readily be measured in dollars. Juries are usually constrained by specific testimony...more
On Oct. 13, the Supreme Court of North Carolina adopted amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. The new rules will impact all appellate cases beginning Jan. 1, 2022....more
Much has been said on this blog about when one should cross-appeal, given the Law Court’s jurisprudence on the topic. I most recently addressed the issue here. As I noted then, there is some tension between the text of the...more
About a year ago, I released a video entitled “Automated Certificates of Service Are Coming.” The wait is over. As of this week, automated certificates of service will be rolled out in every Texas court set up for e-filing. ...more
Appellate practice can be challenging - In complicated cases, it's made all the more challenging by the word limits often imposed by the pertinent rules of procedure. For example, in the North Carolina Court of Appeals,...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the following decision: San Antonio v. Hotels.com, L.P., No. 20-334: Although the general rule in litigation is that each side bears its own attorney’s fees, certain...more