The 3rd Circuit's Supreme Court Report Card for the 2011-12 Term
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its just-completed term, issued a total of 65 signed opinions in argued cases and 10 summary reversals without oral argument.
Oral Argument Doesn't Affect Appeals' Outcomes - Except When It Does
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, May 10, 2012
In late March, the public's attention was focused on appellate oral arguments to an extent and intensity rarely seen, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard day after day of oral argument on the lawfulness and constitutionality of the so-called federal health care mandate.
3rd Circuit 'Strongly' Disfavors Requests to Exceed Word Limits on Briefs
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
A single post on Twitter is limited to 140 characters. My column today consists of approximately 1,400 words. And, if you are preparing a brief to be filed in a federal appellate court, you also may need to be concerned with word counts, because the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure use a word count limit, rather than a page limit, to determine whether an appellate brief is within the applicable size limit.
Repairing the Record on Appeal to Reflect the Truth
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
There's a saying in Pennsylvania state appellate jurisprudence that if the record on appeal does not reflect that something happened in the trial court, then that thing — even if it actually did happen in the trial court — will officially be deemed not to have happened. It is thus not too great of a stretch to observe that the record on appeal may represent, in essence, an alternate form of reality — and the only "reality" that is capable of controlling the outcome of an appeal.
Top Courts Value the Attorney-Client Privilege Differently
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Attorneys and judges are perhaps more familiar than anyone with the value and importance of the attorney-client privilege.
The 3rd Circuit's Reversal Rate: A Success Story
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, November 10, 2011
During the first six terms of the Roberts Court (2005-10), the U.S. Supreme Court heard more than 460 cases, 16 of which were on review from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
