Appellate Specialization news

The State Bar's Legal Specialization Unit is seeking dedicated specialists to join a Working Group for the Appellate Law specialization. Apply here.

The LSU also recognizes specialists reaching milestone anniversaries in 2025, including 20-year appellate specialists: Kenneth Michael Stern, Anthony Dain, Marc Zilversmit, Jeanine Strong, Sean SeLegue, Peter Pierce, Laurie Hepler, Eric Larson.

DJ Launches The Doghouse Report

The DJ is launching new newsletters, one of which is John Roemer's The Doghouse Report, which will be:

A weekly insider look at developments at the California Supreme Court, examining the cases before the Court, the dynamics among the justices, and the interplay between the high court, the lower courts, and the federal judiciary. Published on Fridays

Beds joins Judicate West's APG

 

Beds has joined the Appellate Practice Group of Judicate West. That group has retired justices Zelon, Aaron, and Bruce Smith.

SCOCAblog has posted its SCOCA year in review 2025 about which At the Lectern has posted as well here.

Law360 has Fla. 'Grim Reaper' Atty Facing Bar Admonishment Over Appeal -- A referee with the Florida state bar recommended that an attorney who appeared on state beaches dressed as the Grim Reaper early in the COVID-19 pandemic face admonishment for listing co-counsel on an appeal in a case against Gov. Ron DeSantis without consent. .... "As an officer of the court, respondent is held to a higher standard," the state bar said in the filing. "Respondent knows or should have known that he cannot include other attorneys' names and bar numbers on his pleadings without their express consent."

And Law360 has 'Get Over' Yourself, Ho Says To Judges' Independence Worry -- Judge Ho, who was appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President Donald Trump, penned a fiery opinion piece published Monday by the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy asserting that the judiciary is not a co-equal branch of the government but might be the most arrogant, with members of the bench recently raising what he called "profoundly insincere" concerns about judicial independence. ABAJ has Federal appeals judge tells fellow judges 'to get over themselves'

And see this unpub from 2/6, B336569.PDF, about how NOT to file two separate reply briefs in response to two respondents' briefs.

Appellant should have filed a single reply to all respondents’ briefs. California Rules of Court, rule 8.200(a)(3) provides, “Each appellant may serve and file a reply brief.” (Italics added.) The rule does not say that, if there are multiple respondents’ briefs, an appellant may file a separate 14,000-word reply to each respondent’s brief. .... This court should not have the burden of reviewing two 46-page reply briefs, substantial portions of which cover the same issues, when a single 46-page brief within the 14,000-word limit would suffice. Accordingly, the motion to file a second reply brief is denied.

Appellate seat vacancies

All 29 spots for the 9th Circuit are current filled. You can always check the status of that here.

But in CA, there are a number of open seats for justices, including on the Cal Supreme Court. To check on the status of judicial vacancies, the Judicial Council has a page that reports on that as of the 1st of each month here. The report for Jan. 1, 2026, shows 9 appellate vacancies (but seems to be missing retired PJ Gilbert's seat, so perhaps the real figure is 10).

And you can watch recorded CJA confirmation hearings here.

Today's DJ has the monthly Exceptionally Appealing column, which is As the (appellate) world turns: The 2025 appellate year in review

Great appellate reading

 

There's a whole lot of appellatey goodness here: Supreme Court Historical Society publishes its annual Journal, a “special” one

Retired PJ Gilbert's first post-retirement DJ column, titled It Happened, is in today's paper. He writes:  "I can only think of one New Year's resolution that I cannot keep, not to criticize or express my bafflement over Supreme and appellate court opinions. Notice I did not indicate the particular Supreme Court."

Law360 has Newman Eyes High Court After Latest Loss On Suspension -- An attorney for Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman said Friday the 98-year-old judge plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the full D.C. Circuit refused to reconsider a decision affirming the dismissal of her lawsuit challenging her suspension.

The NYT has Supreme Court Increasingly Favors the Rich, Economists Say -- A new study found that the court’s Republican appointees voted for the wealthier side in cases 70 percent of the time in 2022, up from 45 percent in 1953. See RULING FOR THE RICH: THE SUPREME COURT OVER TIME

And for a critique, see the WSJ's The Allegedly ‘Pro-Rich’ Supreme Court - WSJ

2025 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary

Chief Justice Roberts has issued the 2025 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary 

The NLJ has In Year-End Report, Roberts Looks Ahead to Nation's 250th Birthday -- In his year-end report, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. celebrated the enduring power of the Declaration of Independence and subtly rebuked the call for term limits for members of the judiciary. "This arrangement, now in place for 236 years, has served the country well," he wrote of life tenure protections.

2d Dist. pro tem update

The following are currently sitting on assignment in the 2d District:

• Justice Peter J. Siggins (Retired) of the First District Court of Appeal will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Two until January 31, 2026 

• Judge Sanjay Kumar (Retired) of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Five until February 17, 2026 

• Judge Michael C. Kelley of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Six until January 31, 2026 

• Judge Alexander C.D. Giza of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will be sitting Pro Tem in Division Seven until February 28, 2026 

LAP sues 2d Circuit

The NLJ has Group Files Complaint Against 2nd Circuit Judge, Alleges Mistreatment of Clerks -- The Legal Accountability Project, which advocates for law clerks, stated in a news release Tuesday that its complaint is based on information it received from several former clerks raising concerns about Sarah A.L. Merriam’s workplace conduct.

Appellate sanctions

4/1 imposes appellate sanctions of $3K for filing a false notice of settlement here. Plus additional sanctions to be awarded later. The MetNews article is C.A. Imposes $3,000 Sanction for False Notice of Settlement, Other Breach of Duties

Amicus Briefs Matter!

The New York Times has How a Scholar Nudged the Supreme Court Toward Its Troop Deployment Ruling -- Accepting an argument from a law professor that no party to the case had made, the Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a stinging loss that could lead to more aggressive tactics.

Also in the NYT He Was a Supreme Court Lawyer. Then His Double Life Caught Up With Him. Thomas Goldstein was a superstar in the legal world. He was also a secret high-stakes gambler, whose wild 10-year run may now land him in prison.

Storm causes 2/6 power outage

2nd District Court of Appeal, Ventura, Division Six - Power Outage
Due to the current rain event, electrical power services to Division Six in Ventura have been disrupted, and telephone services have been impacted. The power loss may persist throughout the rain event. For case information, you may contact the Los Angeles office of the Second District Court of Appeal at (213) 830-7000.

Appellate lawyers appointed to LASC!

 

Congrats to Johnathan Eisenman:

Jonathan Eisenman, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Eisenman has served as the Assistant General Counsel at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power since 2025. He served as a Deputy City Attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office from 2018 to 2025. Eisenman worked as an Associate at Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland from 2015 to 2018. He served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2014 to 2015 and from 2011 to 2012. Eisenman served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2013. He was an associate at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld from 2008 to 2011. Eisenman received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Scott T. Millington. Eisenman is a Democrat.

And to Erin Reed:

Erin Reed, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Reed has served as a Senior Appellate Court Attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal since 2017, where she also served as an Appellate Court Attorney from 2014 to 2017. Reed worked as an Associate at Collins & Collins from 2013 to 2014. She served as a Judicial Clerk at the New Mexico Court of Appeals from 2010 to 2013. Reed received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Armen Tamzarian to the Court of Appeal. Reed is a Democrat.

9th Cir. scraps FRAP 26.1

FRAP 26.1 is that annoying rule about including a "disclosure statement" before the table of contents in your federal appellate brief. But as of this month, the Ninth has scrapped that FRAP. New Circuit Rule 28-1(c) says: "Unless otherwise required by Circuit Rule 26.1-1, the brief should not include a disclosure statement pursuant to FRAP 26.1."

Ok, so what does CR 26.1-1 say? It says all parties are supposed to file a Form 34 Disclosure Statement within 14 days of an appeal being docketed (CR 26.1-1(a)(2)) and must file a supplemental Form 34 whenever there is a need to do so. Nothing in CR 26.1-1 appears to "otherwise require" a disclosure within a brief. Thus, the days of disclosure pages in briefs appears over in the Ninth. And no one's going to miss them! (Hat tip to Laurie Hepler for highlighting this.)  

9th Cir. closed Dec. 24-26 this week!

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will be closed on December 24, 2025 and December 26, 2025, as well as December 25, 2025. These additional days will be considered holidays for purposes of FRAP 26(a).

J.Scalia lives on

Bloomberg Law has Mentions of Justice Scalia Surge at Conservative-Dominated Court

References to the late Justice Antonin Scalia spiked during Supreme Court oral arguments this year, highlighting his lasting influence on how the court interprets the law. Justices and advocates have invoked Scalia’s name nearly three dozen times just since the current term began in October. That’s already on par with the number of references he’s received in most calendar years since he died in 2016, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.

• Bloomberg Law reviewed more than 500 oral argument transcripts from February 2016 through December 2025 and identified more than 300 references to Scalia by name—averaging over 30 a year since 2018—across roughly 140 cases.
• No other former justice comes up as often.
• O’Connor, who retired in 2006 and died in 2023, was referenced roughly 50 times over the past decade, and Kennedy approximately 60 times since his retirement in 2018.

Former CJ Cantil-Sakauye's latest mission

The Recorder has Former Calif. Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye Talks About National Mission to Defend Judiciary -- After a 32-year career as a California judge, Cantil-Sakauye has joined the Alliance of Former Chief Justices "to be honest about the work we do" and "to continue to educate using the facts."

• Cantil-Sakauye is taking on another role, this time as a member of the fledgling Alliance of Former Chief Justices. The group of about 50 former state jurists was formed by the civic education and advocacy group Keep Our Republic, which also launched the Article III Coalition of retired federal judges in September.
• I'm in it to win it. It might be a long-range approach, but I think that's how we have to approach getting people to understand what the judiciary is, almost by one organization at a time, a group of young people at a time.
• I just believe if we don't do it, and we don't start it now, it'll never happen, and then the trust and confidence of the judiciary is totally undermined. We'll never get that back. There'll be a narrative we can never recover. And I think then it will truly be hopeless.

Tone check!

In this unpub from 1/5 (on page 8, footnote 5), appellant's counsel is chastised for bad tone:

In its reply brief, FanX accuses the trial judge of being “completely uninformed,” “disregard[ing] . . . California law,” and “abdicat[ing] . . . her duties as a judge” in denying the motion to vacate. It is a long-standing rule that an appellate brief “containing matter manifestly disrespectful toward the trial judge is to be deemed contempt of the appellate court.” (First Nat. Bank v. Superior Court (1909) 12 Cal.App. 335, 348.) We advise counsel for FanX to consider his language more carefully in the future when challenging a ruling of the trial court.

CRC 8.1115 "disapproval"

What does "disapproved" mean in CRC 8.1115(3)(2) ("After decision on review by the Supreme Court, ... a published opinion of a Court of Appeal in the matter, ... is citable and has binding or precedential effect, except to the extent it is inconsistent with the decision of the Supreme Court or is disapproved by that court.")? Well, per this published opinion from 1/5 today here, a reversal is an "unambiguous disapproval."

The fact that the court did not reach the merits of our analyses is inapposite. Having determined that the decision should be reversed because of new legislation, the court was not required to further signal its disapproval by adding a gratuitous, advisory discussion of the law that existed prior to the change.

See also on Law360 Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

If we get that answer wrong, term limits could create a situation worse than the status quo: a permanent cadre of brand-name ex-justices leveraging their Supreme Court service in private practice, politics and business — precisely the kind of elite influence that term limit advocates say they want to curb.

And see Michael J. Broyde and Hayden Hall's Akron Law Review article: Do We Really Want Retired U.S. Supreme Curt Justices Practicing Law? (forthcoming, 2026). Available at SSRN:https://ssrn.com/abstract=5771063orhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5771063

Law360 roundup & more

 Recent articles of note on Law360:

Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2025's Most Memorable Moments

One of 2025's most memorable moments not just in the Ninth Circuit but also the entire appellate realm occurred in March, when Judge VanDyke posted a nearly 20-minute video dissent to YouTube in a firearms case.

California Justices OK Standards For Updated Bar Exam

The California Supreme Court on Thursday approved a proposed set of qualification standards for experts involved in developing California's bar exam in the wake of a botched administration of the exam in February.

Dems Offer Bill To Shine Light On High Court 'Shadow Docket'

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its "shadow docket" rulings, criticizing the high court for issuing "harmful, backwards decisions" that "impact millions of Americans' lives" but are often unaccompanied by a formal opinion.
The bill, titled the "Shadow Docket Sunlight Act of 2025," would require the justices to provide written explanations, and disclose who voted how, when deciding whether to temporarily stay lower court orders.

Fed. Circ. Stunned By 'Numerous' Flaws In Patent Appeal

"The problems with Cooperative's appellate arguments are almost too numerous to count," U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard P. Stark wrote for the panel. "They begin with Cooperative's characterization of its claims, which is newly minted on appeal and contradicts what Cooperative itself previously persuaded this court its claims mean."

Ex-State High Court Chiefs Start Group To Defend Rule Of Law (CA members = Tani Cantil-Sakayue and Ron George)

A group of over 40 former chief judges of state supreme courts across the country this week launched a new project to speak out against attacks on the judiciary's independence and educate about the rule of law. The Alliance of Former Chief Justices, an initiative within the nonpartisan civic education organization Keep Our Republic, debuted Monday.

Also see the new California State Bar website here.

The DJ has Judge Esther Ro followed her heart to a Superior Court seat -- A former appellate attorney [senior research attorney in 2/7, 2019-2024] and class action partner, Superior Court Judge Esther K. Ro draws on diversion tools, careful reasoning and experience to navigate the daily pressures of a high-volume misdemeanor courtroom.

For discussion of Govt. Code 68081, see the new section on Rehearing in this opinion here.

3d Cir. program to check briefs

On January 5, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will implement a program that checks Opening, Response and Reply briefs for compliance pursuant to Federal and Local rules.

 The program will run in the background once a brief is uploaded in CM/ECF using either the Check PDF Document option via the Utilities menu or when docketing in cases using the Opening, Response and Reply brief events. Users are strongly encouraged to check their briefs using the "Check PDF document" utility before docketing an Opening, Response or Reply brief event. The utility does not "lock" a case or prevent others from filing. A template including all required sections for principal briefs will be provided, and its use is strongly recommended to avoid non-compliance orders. Please note that documents filed electronically must be in PDF text format - not scanned to PDF (See L.A.R. 113.3(b)). Detected deficiencies will not prevent users from completing an event, but correcting deficiencies before completion is strongly recommended to avoid non-compliance orders.

Deficiencies will be identified as Critical or Minor:
--Critical deficiencies will likely cause the brief to be rejected and require refiling.
--Minor deficiencies are presented for consideration and may not cause the brief to be rejected.

It is possible the program will detect deficiencies when none exist (e.g. additional text or characters in section headers, graphics, etc.). Please help us improve the program by emailing feedback to the CM/ECF Help Desk at ecf_helpdesk@ca3.uscourts.gov