Over the past week, I have attended two CLE events featuring a panel of appellate judges. At the 29th Annual Litigation Update Institute, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, Justice Paul Green, and Justice Debra Lehrmann enlightened attendees on current events at the Texas Supreme Court. Today, Fifth Circuit Judges Pete Benavides and Pricilla Owen and U.S…. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Oral Argument
Subscribe to Oral Argument RSS FeedFollow-Up on Villarreal Argument
Posted in Announcements, Oral ArgumentTo follow up on my last post, Texas Lawyer has run a front-page story on the Villarreal case. Access the article here or here.
SLG’s Brandy Wingate to Argue at Texas Supreme Court
Posted in Announcements, Oral ArgumentAfter just over a year with my firm, Brandy Wingate has landed an oral argument at the Texas Supreme Court. The argument will take place at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow at the John B. Connally Center at the University of Texas School of Law here in Austin. The case is Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc. and… Continue Reading
How Not to Handle Oral Argument
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentI recently promised a little humor, so here you go. In this video, produced for the Advanced Appellate Seminar put on last week by the State Bar Appellate Section and TexasBarCLE, Houston appellate lawyer David Holman demonstrates a number of things counsel should not do during oral argument. The video was part of an "ethics… Continue Reading
SCOTX Heading to the Valley
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentI am looking forward to attending the Hidalgo County Bar Association’s “An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court” event next Wednesday, March 2, at The Club at Cimarron in Mission, Texas. Through the efforts of HCBA President-Elect Brandy Wingate, Smith Law Group is among the firms helping to sponsor this event, which will include a… Continue Reading
Be Careful What You Wish For
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentRegular followers of this blog know that I’m a fan of oral argument. The challenge of synthesizing facts and law into a concise, well written brief is one thing—some say the main thing—but there’s nothing quite like standing before a row of appellate judges and defending the positions you’re taking on your client’s behalf. So,… Continue Reading
More Oral Arguments?
Posted in Oral ArgumentAs I prepare for an oral argument tomorrow, I came across this article from Texas Lawyer reporting that the intermediate appellate courts are granting argument in more cases. That’s welcome news, if it holds up. The article quotes incoming Third Court Chief Justice Woodie Jones as supporting a default position that the Court should grant oral argument. … Continue Reading
Oral Argument Rituals
Posted in Oral ArgumentOver at MyShingle.com, Carolyn Elefant has posted on some of the things she does to prepare for oral argument and has solicited others’ stories. Here is what I told her: I don’t have what I would consider to be rituals or superstitions. It’s more of a process. I generally go back and read all the briefs and important… Continue Reading
Statistics I’d Like to See
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentAs I ponder yet another case in which the court of appeals has declined to hear oral argument, I’m wondering whether anyone has compiled statistics on how often the trial court’s judgment is reversed in that situation. In other words, based on sheer numbers, should we be telling our appellant-clients that they’re probably hosed if oral argument has… Continue Reading
Some Third Court Practice Tips
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentAs discussed previously, Third Court of Appeals Justice Diane Henson spoke to the Austin Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Section last week. With her permission, I am posting a copy of her handout here. Justice Henson gave a useful overview of how the Third Court conducts its business and offered some helpful briefing and oral-argument tips. One thing I learned was that the… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Rolling Out New Digitization Projects
Posted in Oral Argument, TechnologyEven before the Texas Supreme Court began live webcasting oral arguments and archiving recent arguments last year (previously discussed here and here), the Court had ditched its old system of recording oral argument on audio cassette tapes. Digital audio files from oral arguments dating back to 2004 are available through the Oral Argument Audio link on the Court’s website. Now,… Continue Reading
Recap of Fifth Circuit En Banc Arguments
Posted in Oral ArgumentOver at the relatively new Bartlett Blog, Tad Bartlett provides a blow-by-blow of the recent Fifth Circuit en banc arguments, including the In re Volkswagen venue case that’s generating a lot of discussion these days because it threatens the Marshall “rocket docket.” (See the recent discussion in Texas Lawyer and at the WSJ Law Blog.) … Continue Reading
Why I Love Oral Argument
Posted in Oral ArgumentAs mentioned in my last post, I’ve been tied up getting ready for an oral argument I had today before the Third Court of Appeals here in Austin. The case is not the kind you would usually get that excited about, but we have a couple of good legal issues, and it got a fair amount of… Continue Reading
Preparing for Argument
Posted in Oral ArgumentI am preparing for an oral argument tomorrow, which explains my silence on a number of issues worthy of commentary, including media coverage of the Perry Homes v. Cull decision and Ted Cruz’s new position at Morgan Lewis. The Supreme Court of Texas Blog and others have covered these issues well. I’ll get back to more regular posting soon.
Third Court Cancels FLDS Oral Argument
Posted in Oral Argument, Original ProceedingsBy this order, the Third Court of Appeals has canceled the oral argument on the application for emergency stay in In re Sara Steed, et al. (No. 03-08-00235-CV) and has summarily denied the stay. The court also denied the stay sought in the companion case, In re Faithann Jessop, et al. (No. 03-08-00236-CV). Before you rush to criticize this decision, consider… Continue Reading
Third Court Oral Argument Call-Out
Posted in Oral ArgumentWhat does one have to do to get a case set for oral argument before the Third Court of Appeals? It’s a rhetorical question I’ve heard others ask recently. Early last year, I discussed the perception that oral argument in Texas appellate practice is dying a slow death. I asked how appellate practitioners are supposed to… Continue Reading
Fourth Court, Only Two Webcasts for You!
Posted in Oral Argument, TechnologyIf something looks too good to be true, it probably is. So it goes with the notion that the Fourth Court of Appeals would begin regularly webcasting oral arguments through the St. Mary’s Law School web site. According to the Tex Parte Blog, the Fourth Court will hear two cases tomorrow on the St. Mary’s campus. … Continue Reading
Fourth Court to Begin Live Webcasts
Posted in Oral Argument, TechnologyAlthough I haven’t seen an official announcement (or any publicity whatsoever), it looks as if the Fourth Court of Appeals will begin webcasting oral arguments through the St. Mary’s University web site on March 5, 2008. The Fourth Court would be the logical choice for expanding the webcasting program, considering that St. Mary’s (also in… Continue Reading
Avoid Reading to the Appellate Court
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentToday’s post at the Illinois Trial Practice Weblog contains a useful tip that’s worth a mention here: Never read your argument when appearing before an appellate court. Not only is it bad form, but it also hinders your ability to respond to questions or address the points your opponent makes. The post lays out an… Continue Reading
Texas Supreme Court Orders 9/21/07
Posted in Motions, Oral Argument, Supreme Court OrdersThe Texas Supreme Court issued no opinions with today’s orders. Interestingly, the Court denied the motion to recuse filed in In re Columbia Medical Center, Subsidiary, L.P. (No. 06-0416) (previously discussed here and here), which reportedly had been set for oral argument with the mandamus petition next Thursday. UPDATE: The Court’s spokesman, Osler McCarthy, has confirmed… Continue Reading
Your Brief Is the Main Thing
Posted in Briefs, Oral ArgumentSteve Merican over at the Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog recently posted some interesting comments about the role of oral argument to the appellate decision-making process. Within that post, he linked to an article he wrote entitled How to Write an Appellate Brief That Judges Want to Read and Answers Their Questions. Like most appellate advocates I… Continue Reading
Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Sherman
Posted in Oral ArgumentIn its occasional efforts to "ride the circuit," the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrowApril 12 at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. The arguments are part of the fourth annual Austin College Law Symposium. No video webcast will be available. Source: Osler McCarthy, Staff Attorney for Public Information. UPDATE: Thanks to Osler for pointing… Continue Reading
Editorial Praises Supreme Court Webcasts
Posted in Oral Argument, TechnologyHaynes & Boone’s Mark Trachtenberg has an editorial in today’s Houston Chronicle praising the Texas Supreme Court webcasts previously covered here and here. Mark thinks the move to webcasting was wise because it makes the Court’s business more transparent and will help educate folks about how our court system works. Here’s hoping Mark’s piece gets… Continue Reading
Oral Arguments on Rise in Third Court?
Posted in Appellate Practice, Oral ArgumentAt today’s Austin Bar Appellate Section Luncheon, Justices David Puryear, Alan Waldrop, and Diane Henson (the Court’s newest member) gave a panel presentation about the goings-on at the Third Court of Appeals. Justices Waldrop and Henson both chimed in about the relative dearth of oral arguments, as previously discussed here. Justice Waldrop indicated that he… Continue Reading