Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Rejecting Rehashes

Image result for judge sanjay kumarThat's the title of today's DJ profile, subtitled LA Appellate Judge Sanjay Kumar listens, then takes the argument in another direction. For the past decade Judge Kumar has served on the LA Superior Court's Appellate Division, hearing appeals in misdemeanor cases, limited civil matters, and traffic issues. Twice a month he takes the bench with two other appellate judges and hears ten-minute per-side arguments. But he doesn't want a rehash of what was in the briefs. He writes short tentative rulings that are posted online before hearings. Judge Kumar has also served as a pro tem in Division 5 of the 2d DCA. "Off the bench, he spends a great deal of time over a grill. 'I have four barbecue grills,' Kumar said. 'I have a smoker, and I have a ranch kettle, in which you can fit 20 to 25 Cornish hens.' His specialty dishes include smoked duck, salmon, kabobs and steak."

Also in today's DJ is Moskovitz on Appeal: Oral arguments before the California Supreme Court, which analyzes a particular oral argument to make some presentation pointers, e.g., Stay in the moment; scrap your argument plan and go where the justices go; don't split argument time.