Justice Sonia Sotomayor dropped by Sesame Street the other day to hear a dispute between Goldilocks and Baby Bear.
Enjoy. Thiis may be as close to cameras in the SCOTUS courtroom as we are going to get:
La Fin Absolue du CAV?
Earlier this week, we hosted the Virginia State Bar Appellate Section’s CLE on practicing before the Court of Appeals. The event was a success, but its timing was unfortunate: as James Markels noted in a comment to an earlier post, Senator Creigh Deeds just introduced SB 630, a bill to abolish the CAV.
I am told by a reliable source outside our firm that SB 630 is some kind of a statement being made by Senator Deeds, alone.
I am also told by sources closer to home that I should not make fun of legislators while Monica is a candidate for the Court of Appeals.
Ergo, I will not waste your time arguing against SB 630. (Although a person inclined to make such an argument might start with the caseload reports.)
Instead, secure in the knowledge that we’ve dodged intermediate appellate Armageddon for now, I will pass along some tips from the CLE after the jump.Continue Reading La Fin Absolue du CAV?
When Will Somebody Update This Blog (Part 2)?
About a year ago, I did a holiday post apologizing for the recent lack of substantive posts, and explaining what I’d been doing instead.
This year, I decided to make that sort of post a De Novo holiday tradition, for two reasons. First, it just gets really busy around here during the holidays.
Second, redoing
Fourth Circuit Shifts to the Left? To the Left, to the Left?
A piece in the Baltimore Sun last week makes the case that the traditionally conservative Fourth Circuit is becoming increasingly progressive.
The primary support for the argument appears to be:
- Results in about a half dozen recent opinions, including a series of defendant-favorable Fourth Amendment holdings and the court’s rejection of challenges to the Affordable
I Am John Roberts and So Can You, Part III: Video Proof
We have a real treat for you today.
A major highlight of last week’s AJEI Summit was a surprise appearance by Chief Justice Roberts, who dropped in on our Thursday-night reception.
In person, the Chief is ever so dreamy, though perhaps not quite as tall as you might have expected.
(Shortness is endemic in appellate
Where is Last Week’s Post?
Loyal readers are no doubt wondering what happened to last week’s post; I know that many of you plan your week around the sunbursts of appellate goodness that rarely regularly shine forth from these pages.
The short answer is that it’s hiding. Last week I did a guest post at Chris Hill’s blog, Construction Law
AME Financial Corp. and Abuses of Discretion
I’m a sucker for a good standard of review.
As the Curmudgeon likes to say, the standard of review decides cases.
And sometimes, unfortunately, that standard of review is abuse of discretion. See, e.g., John Crane, Inc. v. Jones, 650 S.E.2d 851 (2007) (affirming trial court’s exercise of discretion; accidentally starting inexorable urban
The Five Best Parts of Virginia Law (or Practice)
A few weeks ago, we welcomed Virginia’s new justices and appellate judges with a piece about the five worst parts of Virginia law.
In hindsight, that was probably a little rude: 
“Welcome to your new job. Here’s why it sucks.”
To make amends, here is a list of the five best parts of Virginia
The Five Worst Parts of Virginia Law
On Friday, Virginia appellate lawyers breathed a sigh of relief as the powers that be filled a crucial vacancy–and not a moment too soon. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we congratulate Jurgen Klinsmann on being named the 35th coach of the U.S. National Team, and look forward
Guest Post: Eric Reed on Bond v. United States
According to a piece on the WSJ’s opinion page this morning, Bond v. United States may be the most important SCOTUS opinion of the year. David Rivkin and Lee Casey read Bond‘s unanimous reaffirmation of dual sovereignty as an existential threat to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (or “ObamaCare,” depending on