My colleague and sometime coauthor, Travis Graham, is an eccentric civil procedure genius and all-around good guy. Among his other hobbies, Travis collects popular misconceptions of the law. He recently told me about a new urban legend making the rounds: the Nusbaum motion. As I understand it, there is a perception brewing in
Thoughts on Oral Argument from Around the Web
As a follow up to our earlier discussion about oral argument, here are some additional thoughts from around the web.
Eugene Volokh spent a few posts last week blogging on Mayer Brown’s treatise on federal appellate practice, with items on oral argument here and here. These posts, and the comments they’ve generated,
Update: North Carolina Court of Appeals Rejects Twiqbal
A few posts back, we talked about the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Fultz case, and discussed the relative evolution of state and federal pleading standards. Mack Sperling wrote in to note a recent case, Holleman v. Aiken, in which the North Carolina Court of Appeals declined to follow Twombly, stating that it
Bad News for Appellees: Whitehead v. Commonwealth
Here’s a scary new Supreme Court opinion: Whitehead v. Commonwealth. The facts of the case are depressing. Whitehead’s boyfriend was breaking into cars and storing his pilfered goods at her apartment, while helping her pay rent and support their daughter. Danville’s finest intervened, and Whitehead was convicted of receiving stolen property based on a
Oral Argument Lessons from the Symposium
By all accounts, the Virginia State Bar’s recent appellate symposium on oral argument was a big hit. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend–I was tied up at my day job, posing as a mild-mannered commercial litigator–but I’ve heard from folks who made the trip that Justice Keenan’s talk was one of the highlights. Here are
New Virginia Supreme Court Opinion: Fultz v. Delhaize Am., Inc.
The Supreme Court of Virginia pulls off a neat trick in Fultz v. Delhaize America, Inc. It hands down an opinion that’s factually and doctrinally unremarkable–even boring–on its own terms, yet fascinating in the broader context of the current state of the law.
Doris Fultz, accompanied by her 3-year-old grandson, visited a grocery store’s
Update: Free Appellate CLE July 13th in Alexandria
Word on the street is that about thirty people, including Justice Keenan, have signed up for the oral argument symposium this Monday at the courthouse in Alexandria. Monica Monday is organizing it; I am sure that she will do a wonderful job. Contact her at monica_monday@gentrylocke.com if you are interested. Registration is required.
Practice Tip: Use the Standard of Review Ladder
Appellate texts and practice guides recite solemn homilies about the importance of the standard of review (and with good reason–but that’s another post). We are told that that standard of review defines the strength of the lens through which the appellate court will review the lower court’s decisions. Our standard of review should not be
Free Appellate CLE July 13th in Alexandria
The State Bar’s Appellate Practice Committee has scheduled a free CLE for July 13th at 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the courthouse in Alexandria. The CLE will focus on oral argument and include an illustrative moot court. The timing is pretty convenient, because the Supreme Court will be hearing writ arguments in Alexandria the following day. And