Thursday, May 5, 2016

More on waiving oral argument

The ABA's Journal of the Litigation Section has published the Spring 2016 issue of Litigation, and it includes some interesting appellate articles. On page 30 is Let's Revamp the Appellate Rules Too, by Martin Siegel, about how inefficient and unnecessary procedures add to the time and cost of an appeal. On page 31 is A Judge Comments by 9th Circuit Judge Barry Silverman on the importance (or really the lack thereof) of oral argument. He concludes:
Image result for you have the right to remain silent"If you've written a good brief, one that's better than the other side's, give serious consideration to affirmatively waiving oral argument even if the court doesn't submit the case on its own. If you're already ahead on paper, all oral argument can do is give the other side a chance to make up for lost ground. Remember, you have the right to remain silent."
On the lighter side, for some fun photos of appellate judges & justices in the Beverly Hills Bar Ass'n Bar Brief, click here (e.g., on page 10 you'll see Gilbert and Manella dancing the can-can, and Reinhardt and Kozinski smiling.)