10th Circuit Tips and Resources For New Attorneys and Infrequent Attorney Filers.

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit Practitioner's Guide, Appellate Writing, Brief Writing, U.S. Courts of Appeal

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10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Local Court Rules, Practitioner's Guide, Tenth Circuit Rules

Filing Your Appeal – For New and Infrequent Attorney Filers, The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/clerk/filing-your-appeal/atty

Introduction

If this is your first time in this court, welcome. If it has been a while since you filed a brief with us, welcome back. Practicing in a federal appeals court is different from practicing in a trial court, state or federal, and there are even notable differences from state appellate work. With this in mind, there are a number of resources available to assist you.

As an initial matter, if you intend to practice in this court, you can count on referring frequently to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and especially our local Tenth Circuit Rules. Our Practitioner’s Guide is also a good source of information.

If you can’t find the answer to a question in the rules or if you have a special concern about an appeal, do not hesitate to call the clerk’s office at 303-844-3157. We have real people answering the phone and a well-trained staff who can assist you.

The following sections provide general information you may find useful. However, this information is no substitute for a careful review of the federal and our local rules. . . .

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10th Circuit Uses Sentence Diagramming To Decipher Federal Gun Statute.

19 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Bad Legal Writing, Legal Writing, Readability, Statutory Interpretation

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10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Diagramming Sentences, Federal Statutes, Judith D. Fischer, Legal Writing, Legal Writing Skills Prof Blog

The Tenth Circuit Applies The Art of Sentence Diagramming, by Judith D. Fischer, Legal Writing Prof Blog (with hat tip to Brian Glassman!)

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legalwriting/2015/02/the-art-of-sentence-diagramming-helps-a-court.html

he Tenth Circuit recently interpreted a statute so confusing that the court decided to diagram some of its language. In United States v. Rentz, the court observed that ‘Few statutes have proven as enigmatic as 18 U.S.C. §24(c),’ which concerns crimes committed while using a firearm. Puzzling over what the statute’s modifiers mean, the court used the same device some of us learned in grade school—setting out a clear diagram of how words relate to one another grammatically. The court thus reached enough clarity to affirm the district court’s decision. Still, the court stated, ‘Even now plenty of hard questions [about the statute’s meaning] remain.’

My conclusions: 1) The art of diagramming sentences should be revived, and 2) Congress should focus more on clear drafting.