19 Tuesday Jun 2018
Posted in Acronyms, Appellate Law, Benchslap, Humor, Intellectual Property, Judges, Legal Ethics, Legal Writing, Oral Argument, Patent Law, Proofreading
≈ Comments Off on Six Judges Let The Benchslaps Fly.
Six Benchslaps to Brighten Your Day, by Lisa Needham, Lawyerist.com
https://lawyerist.com/six-benchslaps-will-brighten-day/
As Ms. Needham describes it, “[f]or the unfamiliar, benchslap originally referred to one judge snarking at another, but now refers to any time a member of the bench crushes an attorney with wit, rage, or both.” It is also an excellent example of what not to do. -CCE
27 Tuesday Mar 2018
Posted in Appellate Law, Case Law, Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Historical Supreme Court Cases Now Free Online.
Historical Supreme Court cases now online thanks to Library of Congress (and Hein & Co.), by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog
According to the press release, ‘More than 225 years of Supreme Court decisions acquired by the Library of Congress are now publicly available online – free to access in a page image format for the first time. The Library has made available more than 35,000 cases that were published in the printed bound editions of United States Reports. … The digital versions of the U.S. Reports in the new collection were acquired by the Law Library of Congress through a purchase agreement with William S. Hein & Co. Inc. The acquisition is part of the Law Library’s transition to a digital future and in support of its efforts to make historical U.S. public domain legal materials freely and easily available to Congress and the world.’ You can access the collection here.”
19 Monday Feb 2018
Posted in Appellate Law, Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research
≈ Comments Off on Update to Historical Statutes At Large Online.
More Historical Statutes at Large Available Online, by Jennifer González, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress
The individual statutes for congresses 68 through 81 are now available on the Law Library of Congress website. This addition closes the gap for the years for which the Statutes at Large were not available on the Internet. As with the volumes for previous congresses, each of these statutes is tagged with tailored, descriptive metadata to help users search and browse by facets.
18 Sunday Feb 2018
Posted in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on SCOTUS Notes Has the Supreme Court Justices’ Handwritten Notes!
SCOTUS Notes transcribes notes written by Supreme Court justices during conference meetings, posted by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog (with hat tip to BeSpacific Blog)
We can read the U.S. Supreme Court justices’ handwritten notes during their deliberations? What will this mean for legal analysis and where do I sign up? -CCE
SCOTUS Notes is the newest crowdsourcing project under the Zooniverse platform originated at the University of Minnesota. ‘In this project, members of the public transcribe handwritten notes from U.S. Supreme Court justices. Unlike members of Congress, justices cast their votes in complete privacy during weekly conference meetings. Only justices are allowed in the Chief Justice’s conference room when they discuss, deliberate, and make initial decisions on cases that focus on some of the nation’s most pressing legal issues. The only record of what has been said, and by whom, is provided by the handwritten personal notes the justices themselves take during conference. These crucial documents detail the discussions and debates that took place in thousands of cases spanning multiple decades.’
[Emphasis added.]
13 Wednesday Dec 2017
Most Popular South Carolina Blawgs, Blawg Search, Justia
https://blawgsearch.justia.com/blogs/countries/united-states/south-carolina
For my paralegal friends in South Carolina, here’s the top legal blogs in South Carolina sorted by popularity. There’s a little bit of everything here, and several caught my eye. It will take a while to digest it all. I recommend bookmarking this site, and visiting it often. -CCE
06 Wednesday Dec 2017
Posted in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Citations, Citations to the Record, Court Rules, Courts, E-Briefs, E-Filing, Federal District Court Rules, Legal Writing, Local Rules, State Appellate Courts, Style Manuals
≈ Comments Off on Style Guide for the United States Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Style Guide, by Louis J. Sirico, Jr., Legal Skills Prof Blog
When I was starting out in my paralegal career, I created cheat sheets for filing motions and briefs in state and federal district courts. The rules, especially for federal circuit court briefs, are complex and require checking multiple sections, local rules, e-filing rules, and your judge’s personal court rules (if any exist). I found these cheat sheets were the most popular handouts at my legal writing courses and paralegal seminars, and included them in the Appendix of Practical Legal Writing for Legal Assistants.
Regardless of where you are in your paralegal career, I recommend creating a similar cheat sheet for yourself. Updating your cheat sheet when the rules change force you to examine every addition or revision. Keeping your cheat sheet current will reinforce the rules in your mind, and will help you stay on top of your game.
When it came to analyzing rules for the U.S. Supreme Court, I passed. I left it to the professionals who format and print these briefs for a living. Now, at last, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Style Guide is available for all. -CCE
17 Monday Apr 2017
Posted in 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit Practitioner's Guide, Appellate Judges, Appellate Law, Appellate Record, Benchslap, Citations to the Record, Immigration Law, Judges
≈ Comments Off on A Benchslap By Judge Gorsuch. And It’s A Really Good One, Too.
Benchslap Of The Day: No More Mr. Nice Guy, by David Lat, Above The Law Blog
http://abovethelaw.com/2015/03/benchslap-of-the-day-no-more-mr-nice-guy/
It’s Monday, which makes it a good day for a good old-fashioned benchslap!
Our Judge for today’s benchslap is none other than newly appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch of the United States Supreme Court, back when he was at the United States District Court for the Tenth Circuit. Judge Gorsuch’s opinion is an excellent lesson on the basic elements of a successful appeal. An immigration lawyer ignored the Court’s local rules. A serious mistake, and a thorough benchslap. -CCE
04 Tuesday Apr 2017
Posted in 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Appellate Law, Civil Rights, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Second Amendment
≈ Comments Off on Excellent Example of Appellate Court’s Use of Persuasive Legal Writing Tools.
Contrasting Introductions in Kolbe v. Hogan, by Megan E. Boyd, Lady (Legal) Writer Blog
http://ladylegalwriter.blogspot.com/2017/03/contrasting-introductions-in-kolbe-v.html
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act (FSA), which bans AR-15s, other military-style rifles, and certain large-capacity magazines, is constitutional and does not violate the Second or Fourteenth Amendments.
This decision is controversial for a number of reasons (aren’t all cases involving guns?), but the introductions in the majority and dissenting opinions are particularly interesting. You’d expect an opinion about the constitutionality of a firearm-related statute to start with an exposition of Second Amendment law or a discussion of the specific language of the statute itself.
Not this majority opinion. It starts with a literal bang . . . .
10 Tuesday Jan 2017
Posted in 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Legal Writing
≈ Comments Off on How Long Is Too Long For An Appellate Brief?
Posner criticizes ‘verbosity’ in appeals briefs in decision upholding closed voir dire, by Debra Cassens Weiss, Appellate Practice, ABA Journal.com (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)
Judge Richard Posner is a well-known 7th Circuit jurist, legal writing scholar, and prolific author. Knowing this, it is puzzling why the appellate briefs for both sides were over 200 pages each. Yes, Judge Posner had something to say about it. -CCE
25 Saturday Jun 2016
Posted in Appellate Law, Constitutional Law, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on “The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History”
The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History, by Ken Gormley
If you are interested in constitutional law, I highly recommend this book. It was published in May, 2016, and can be found in your public library or ordered from any book store. It is an interesting discussion of presidential decisions or actions and the constitutional implications.
Here is just one example. If you grew up during the time of Watergate, you may find this particularly interesting. Like most people, I had always assumed that President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon gave Nixon a “get out of jail free” card. My guess is that this decision caused Ford the election to his first full term as President.
When the author interviewed Gerald Ford for the book, of course Nixon’s pardon came up. Ford said that he had asked a young lawyer, Denton Decker, to research all the nuances and possible issues that might occur if Ford were to pardon Nixon. The idea of pardoning Nixon was very unpopular. Ford wanted to know what possible precedent and repercussions a pardon might mean.
Decker finds Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915). Burdick holds that, if one accepts a pardon, it is an admission of guilt.
Ford sent Decker to San Clemente to Nixon’s home to present the offer of a pardon to Nixon and Nixon’s lawyer. Decker gave Nixon a Miranda warning and told him that, if Nixon accepted a pardon, it would be an admission of guilt. Nixon at first didn’t want to accept the pardon because he understood what it meant. Another issue on the table at the same time was the creation of a presidential library for Nixon’s papers, which the author says Nixon badly wanted. After first resisting, Nixon decided to take the pardon.
When Ford pardoned Nixon, he thought he had given the public exactly what it wanted. Instead, it was seen as letting Nixon off, even though Nixon was obviously guilty. When interviewed by Mr. Gormley for this book, Ford was still frustrated that the public had never seemed to understand that, by accepting a pardon, Nixon admitted his guilt.
An interesting piece of history and a good read. -CCE
09 Thursday Jun 2016
Posted in Appellate Judges, Appellate Law, Citations, Federal Judges, Judges, Legal Analysis, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, The Bluebook
≈ Comments Off on Posner Asks What is Obviously Wrong with the Federal Judiciary. Is This A Trick Question?
What Is Obviously Wrong With The Federal Judiciary, Yet Eminently Curable, Part I, by Richard Posner, 188 19 GREEN BAG 2D 187 (with hat tip to William P. Statsky) (The Green Bag is Quarterly Legal Journal dedicating to good legal writing, supported in part by the George Mason University School of Law)
http://www.greenbag.org/v19n2/v19n2_articles_posner.pdf
If you’re looking for a good Bluebook bashing, here it is. -CCE
At the level of form, the first thing to do is burn all copies of the Bluebook, in its latest edition 560 pages of rubbish, a terrible time waster for law clerks employed by judges who insist as many do that the citations in their opinions conform to the Bluebook; also for students at the Yale Law School who aspire to be selected for the staff of the Yale Law Journal – they must pass a five-hour exam on the Bluebook. Yet no serious reader pays attention to citation format; all the reader cares about is that the citation enable him or her to find the cited material. Just by reading judicial opinions law students learn how to cite cases, statutes, books, and articles; they don’t need a citation treatise. In the office manual that I give my law clerks only two pages are devoted to citation format. [Footnotes omitted; emphasis added.]
12 Thursday May 2016
Posted in Appellate Law, Appellate Writing, Legal Writing
≈ Comments Off on Judges Quote Yoda.
Galactic Disputes: Judges Channel the Wisdom of Star Wars, by Anna Massoglia, Lawyerist.com©
Making legal jargon understandable to the general masses is a big job. Some more creative judges think outside of the box to get their point across through pop culture references. With all of the hype surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it should come as no surprise that Star Wars references are seeping into judicial opinions.
31 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in Attorney Discipline, Bankruptcy Court Rules, Bankruptcy Law, Diligence, Legal Ethics, Oklahoma Supreme Court, Sanctions, Technology
≈ Comments Off on The Oklahoma Supreme Court Sanctions Attorney for Computer Illiteracy.
Tags
Attorney Discipline, Bankruptcy Court, Computer LIteracy, Legal Profession Blog, Mike Frisch, Oklahoma, William P. Statsky
Oklahoma Accepts Computer Illiteracy As Mitigation: Censure Imposed, by Mike Frisch, Legal Profession Blog (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)
No doubt you have seen posts here and elsewhere that discuss whether computer competency is now required due diligence for attorneys. The Oklahoma Supreme Court bench-slammed an older attorney for his lack of computer literacy. But, before you make up your mind, read the dissent. -CCE
03 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in Appellate Law, Legal Writing, Plain Language, Readability, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Plain English and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Plain English/Language Made Simple, SCOTUSblog
http://www.scotusblog.com/category/plain-english/
This is our archive of posts in Plain English. You may also be interested in these resources:
Supreme Court Procedure
Glossary of Legal Terms
Biographies of the Justices
27 Saturday Feb 2016
Posted in 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Law, Gender Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Wrongful Termination
≈ Comments Off on Sixth Circuit Takes a Look at Employee’s Age, Race, and Sex Discrimination Claim.
Dis-Orderly Conduct: Hospital Security Guard Fired After Incident With Psychiatric Patient Cannot Advance Discrimination Claims, by Alexis B. Kasacavage, Bingham Greenebaum Doll, LLP Blog
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=729cc33f-832f-49e3-97f6-7a1c3c8f1997
Interesting analysis on how the courts came to the same conclusion but for different reasons. -CCE
In Loyd v. Saint Joseph Mercy Oakland, et al., the Sixth Circuit recently upheld a Michigan district court’s decision to dismiss a 52-year-old African-American female security guard’s age, race and sex discrimination claims arising from her discharge following an incident with a combative psychiatric patient at the hospital where she worked.
17 Sunday Jan 2016
Posted in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Appellate Law, Class Actions
≈ Comments Off on 9th Circuit Overturns Sealed Order Hiding Chrysler Defect – Not Something You See Every Day.
Tags
9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Class Actions, Jennifer Bennett, Public Justice Blog, Sealed Court Records
Same Story, New Ending: Court Overturns Order Sealing Chrysler Defect, by Jennifer Bennett, Public Justice Blog
It’s the same story, over and over again: Corporation conceals deadly defect. Someone dies, and their family sues. Corporation settles quietly. Court records are sealed. Nobody finds out. More people are hurt; more people sue; more settlements are reached; more records are sealed. Lather, rinse, repeat.
This is how GM was able to hide an ignition switch defect that killed over a hundred people for more than a decade. It’s how Remington concealed evidence that its most popular rifle can fire without anyone pulling the trigger. . . .
14 Thursday Jan 2016
Posted in Appellate Law, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on So What’s Going To Happen to Puerto Rico?
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Argument Analysis: Puerto Rico — Special No More?, by Lyle Denniston, SCOTUS Blog
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13 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in Oklahoma Civil Appellate Procedure, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Oklahoma Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on OSCN Adds Nine More Oklahoma Counties.
OSCN Kicks off the New Year with Nine more District Courts added to its Case Search, OSCN (Oklahoma Supreme Court Network)
OSCN has been around a while. Oklahoma actually has two websites and, between the two, you can access every county in the state. The second website, ODCR, is useful, but not as sophisticated as OSCN. Both websites allow you to look up cases by county, name, or case number. OSCN allows free access to the hyperlinks that give you access to filed documents. ODCR charges a monthly fee for that access.
The larger counties are found on OSCN. With some exceptions, you can access everything that has been filed in the case in a relatively short time after it was filed. ODCR can be a bit slower to post filed documents.
Happily nine more county district courts have moved to OSCN, which is discussed more fully in this post. OSCN provides more than a method to access a court case’s docket and the documents filed in the case. It is also a great resource for Oklahoma case law, statutes, Attorney General opinions, and more. A very handy tool. -CCE
On January 7, 2016, the Oklahoma Supreme Court added nine additional district courts to its online case search. With this addition, visitors to the OSCN website now have the capability to search public records in 34 district courts and in the Appellate Court. This free service provides the public a convenient way to search for court records by case number, name, date of birth, and other identifiers. Search results are fast, and case information is available almost immediately after being processed by the court clerk’s office. In addition to online case information, site visitors may view court-related documents online; however, documents availability will vary by district court. . . .
27 Sunday Dec 2015
Posted in Appellate Law, Oral Argument
≈ Comments Off on Preparing Your Oral Argument – This is How You Do It.
How to Prepare for Oral Argument, by Sam Glover, Lawyerist Blog
https://lawyerist.com/40693/how-to-prepare-for-oral-argument/
Oral argument is one of the most exciting parts of litigation, and only a few lawyers are really good at it. But even if you aren’t a naturally talented presenter, you can still improve. The important thing is to get away from your outline and use a more ‘modular’ approach to oral argument.
Many lawyers — especially those new to law practice — prepare for oral argument the same way, by creating an outline and rehearsing as they would for a speech. They may prepare for questions by talking through the issues with a colleague, but this does not usually result in effective oral argument. What it does result in is a stiff argument, awkward recovery after answering questions, and an ineffective presentation overall.
That’s because oral argument is so much more dynamic than an outline — even if you have a ‘cold’ bench. In order to prepare for dynamic argument, you need a more dynamic approach than an outline and a few run-throughs. . . .
20 Sunday Dec 2015
Posted in Education, Limited License Legal Technician Program, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Utah Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Utah Lawyers Not Yet Ready To Accept Limited Paralegal Practitioners.
A New Kind Of Paralegal Is Coming To Help Utahns Navigate The Court System, by Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune (published December 14, 2015)
http://www.sltrib.com/home/3307300-155/a-new-kind-of-paralegal-is
There are issues with how Utahns access their justice system, a Utah Supreme Court justice said.
Many people either can’t afford lawyers, Deno Himonas said Monday, or simply don’t want to hire one to help them navigate the court system as they file for divorce, settle debts or resolve eviction issues. . . .
To that end, the Utah Supreme Court has approved the creation of a new legal profession: limited paralegal practitioners.
* * *
Creating a new career field from the ground up won’t be without challenges, however.
One of the biggest hurdles may be getting Utah lawyers to support the program. The task force report said 60 percent of lawyers recently surveyed by the Utah State Bar either disagreed or ‘strongly disagreed’ with a proposal to explore limited licenses for certain practice areas.
19 Saturday Dec 2015
Posted in Limited License Legal Technician Program, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Utah Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Utah’s Major Decisions About The Paralegal Profession.
Tags
Limited Legal Licensing, National Center for State Courts, Non-Lawyers, Paralegals, Utah Supreme Court
Utah made some major decisions about the paralegal profession in 2015. In August, the Utah Supreme Court, Utah State Bar, and National Center for State Courts took a hard look at the role of non-lawyers:
Non-Lawyer Legal Assistance Roles – Efficacy, Design, and Implementation, Thomas M. Clark, Ph.D., National Center for State Courts (August 2015)
Non-Lawyer Legal Assistance Roles
In November 2015, the Utah Supreme Court’s Task Force also tackled limited legal licensing of non-lawyers:
Utah Supreme Court Task Force to Examine Limited Legal Licensing
You can find both here at the Utah Courts website under Publications/Court Reports:
http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/reports/
23 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Appellate Law, Bad Legal Writing, Benchslap, Brief Writing, Citations, Court Rules, Courts, Issues On Appeal, Judges, Legal Writing
≈ Comments Off on Failure To Follow Court Rules Earned This Fed Up Benchslap.
A Lawyer Way Out Of Her League Gets Benchslapped By Frustrated Judge, by Kathryn Rubino, Above The Law Blog
The case did not seem suspicious. A commercial painter claimed he had not been paid for work hired by a building manager. The lawyer took the painter’s case. Unfortunately, under oath, her client admitted that he had faked his evidence with forged invoices.
No one was surprised when the trial court imposed sanctions. The surprise came when the lawyer appealed the case with a badly written brief. The lawyer only made it worse when she submitted her corrected brief to the Court. The judge’s response is a classic benchslap. -CCE
15 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted in Certification, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Regulation, South Carolina Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on South Carolina Supreme Court Creates Board of Paralegal Certification.
Tags
Board of Paralegal Certification, Edward Nelson, examiner.com, NY Public Policy Examiner, Paralegal Certification, Supreme Court of South Carolina
South Carolina Supreme Court creates a State Board of Paralegal Certification, by Edward Nelson, NY Public Policy Examiner, examiner.com (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)
Today [November 11, 2015], the South Carolina Supreme Court issued an Order which gives legitimacy to Rule 429 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR) and creates the Board of Paralegal Certification where paralegals can voluntarily apply to become certified with the State of South Carolina. According to the Supreme Court, ‘The purpose of certification of South Carolina’s paralegals is to assist in the delivery of legal services to the public by identifying individuals who are qualified by education, training, and experience and who have demonstrated knowledge, skill, and proficiency to perform substantive legal work under the direction and supervision of a lawyer licensed in South Carolina.’
This is a tremendous Order from the South Carolina Supreme Court issued on November 12, 2015. The Board of Paralegal Certification shall be formed of five (5) attorneys in good standing with the South Carolina Bar and four (4) paralegals certified under the program which constitutes a nine (9) member board. . . .
10 Tuesday Nov 2015
Posted in Appellate Law, Civil Rights, Excessive Force, Governmental Tort Claim Act, Qualified Immunity, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on The U.S. Supreme Court, Qualified Immunity, Deadly Force, and a Car Chase.
Tags
Excessive Use of Force, Law Enforcement, Law Librarians Blog, Mark Giangrande, Qualified Immunity
Supreme Court Action: Qualified Immunity When Deadly Force is Used By Officers During A Car Chase, by Mark Giangrande, Law Librarians Blog
It will be interesting to see how this ruling may be applied to recent news events. –CCE
The Supreme Court issued one opinion today [November 9, 2015]. The case, Mullenix v. Luna (14-1143), decided whether a Texas state trooper (Mullenix) was entitled to qualified immunity when he fired shots at a suspect’s car during a high speed chase, killing the suspect. . . .
02 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Evidence, Insurance Defense, Litigation, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Torts
≈ Comments Off on Seventh Circuit Rules On The Weight Of Scientific Evidence.
Tags
Brian O'Connor Watson, Causation, Neil Loyd, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog, Robert H. Riley, Scientific Evidence, Toxic Torts
Seventh Circuit Ruling On Scientific Evidence Closes Some Doors But Opens Others, by Robert H. Riley, Neil Loyd, and Brian O’Connor Watson, Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog
Exposure to potentially harmful substances at some level is a fact of modern life. These substances are everywhere — in the air we breathe, in the food we eat, and in the water we drink — and many of these substances are naturally occurring. It is impossible to have zero exposure to all of them.
For both science and law, however, the issue is not whether someone has some detectable exposure. Rather, it is whether the dose was sufficient (in quantity and duration) to cause harm.
