A Proposal to Cut Costs in CJA Appeals
By Steve Klepper (@MDAppeal)
Inspired by Michelle Olsen’s May 2013 post reprinting her letter to D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland regarding the Court’s oral argument policy, I today sent a letter to Chief Judge Garland proposing how to reduce printing costs for court-appointed counsel. Read More…
Reflecting on Secrecy in 4th Circuit Panel Composition
I am currently en route to Richmond for an argument before the Fourth Circuit. (Don’t worry, I’m on a train, not driving while blogging.) I know my record. I know my cases. I know my argument. But I don’t know which three judges will be hearing argument tomorrow. The Fourth Circuit jealously guards the identity of a panel until 8:30 on the morning of argument. Read More…
Proposed New Maryland Rules for Amicus Briefs
By Michael Wein
Today, the Rule’s Committee meets to discuss and likely adopt various proposed Amendments, some directly impacting Maryland appeals. The link, (particularly pages 14-20), is located at http://www.mdcourts.gov/rules/agenda/agenda.pdf and the Reporters Note summarizing these changes for appeal Briefs is reproduced below. The basic summary is that for the first time, Maryland appears keen to enact a Rule Change to have Amici Curiae (“Friend of the Court” Briefs, usually by interest groups), for the most part, adopt much of the very influential and formal Supreme Court Amici Curiae Practice, with much more specificity on times for filing, and the extent to which there can and should be Amici involvement in existing appeal cases. Read More…
Appellate Reviews: In re The Lone Ranger (2013)
Welcome to Appellate Reviews, where appellate judges experienced in reviewing others’ opinions apply that skill to others’ reviews of popular culture. We’ll begin with our top court’s top movie buff, Judge Harrell. We hope that over time this series will branch out to other judges and other genres.
In re The Lone Ranger (2013), Before The Honorable Glenn T. Harrell, Jr., Judge, Court of Appeals (with Steven M. Klepper, Reporter)
Review Under Review: 1 star (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)
Representative Quote: “Why is The Lone Ranger such a huge flop at the box-office? … Because the movie sucks, that’s why.”
Ruling on Appeal: Reversed. Read More…
Gauging the Impact of Obama’s Fourth Circuit Appointees
During President Obama’s first term, the U.S. Senate confirmed six of his nominees to the 15-seat Fourth Circuit. Conventional wisdom among Fourth Circuit practitioners seems to be that the Obama appointees (Judges Davis, Keenan, Wynn, Diaz, Floyd, and Thacker) have changed the Court significantly. Among other manifestations of this change in composition of the Court, I’ve heard some say that the Court appears to be more fractious now than in the past. I wanted to see if there is any data to back up that perception, so I looked at the Court’s published opinions from 2008 through the first six months of 2013 to compare the percentage of unanimous opinions versus those with concurring and dissenting opinions. Read More…
Looking for the Next Big Case
During its past two terms, the Court of Appeals issued several decisions that attracted a lot of attention. It’s hard to know whether any decision this year will draw the same level of interest, but a quick review of the cases to be argued during September and October revealed at least two cases that should prove interesting. Read More…
What Is a Majority Opinion?
By Michael Wein
After eagerly awaiting the outcome this summer on whether Maryland would retain contributory negligence, or adopt comparative negligence as exists in 46 other States, the Court of Appeals of Maryland on July 9, 2013, kept contributory negligence. What is less clear is an unusual procedural question arising from the Court’s decision in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia: Which opinion was the majority opinion? Read More…
Welcome to the Maryland Appellate Blog
Welcome to the Maryland Appellate Blog, sponsored by the MSBA Litigation Section. The blog fills a gap in Maryland legal commentary. In most states of equal or larger population, there are one or more blogs dedicated to appellate matters in the state. Typically, solo practitioners or small firms maintain those sites. The result can be that those blogs temporarily or permanently cease operation when the author hits a busy patch in his or her work. Such single-author blogs also can suffer from too narrow a focus or viewpoint.
The Maryland Appellate Blog seeks to improve on the state appellate blog model by featuring original content from a roster of contributors, plus guest authors. It is inspired by—but far less ambitious than—SCOTUSblog and The Volokh Conspiracy. The blog primarily covers the Court of Appeals, with ancillary coverage of the Court of Special Appeals, the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court.
Posts ordinarily will not consist of detailed case summaries, which are already available in other publications. Rather, blog content includes:
- certiorari petitions before the Court of Appeals;
- coverage of notable arguments;
- practice tips;
- commentary on the implications of specific rulings or general trends;
- interviews with appellate judges; and
- news, including committee programs.
The blog’s opening-day editorial roster consists of seven appellate practitioners. Read More…
Maryland Appellate Blog 