Justice Burdick spoke at this morning's Fourth District Bar CLE on appellate practice. Much of what he offered though applies to all practice, even the practice of a life well-lived.
Credibility. Credibility is your most valuable asset and not one to be squandered. Incomplete or disingenuous statements of fact or law are harmful to your cause. As is hyperbole.
Civility. Civility is much more persuasive than incivility.
Conciseness. Choose your best issues and argue them in a logical concise manner. Consider every issue, every paragraph, every word. Include only those that lead to the result you are seeking.
Justice Burdick referenced Strunk and White's Elements of Style. And, he's right. I first read Elements of Style in 1976 and I last read it about six months ago. If you have not read it in a while, it's well worth a revisit. Thirty minutes with Elements can make a world of difference. It should be on your bookshelf or your desk right next to the court rules.
Five other tidbits --
1. The average time from filing of appeal to decision is 400 days.
2. When you prepare the Notice of Appeal, you must identify the court reporter by name for any transcripts you wish to order. If you don't know the name, check with the district court. If they can't help you, check with the Supreme Court Clerk's office.
3. All appellate briefs are now scanned and put on Westlaw. Therefore, the Court does not want juveniles, whether defendants or victims, referred to by their names. Follow the lead of the district court case title -- State v. Doe, State v. T.M., etc.
4. The Court is tightening up on the question of whether an adequate record has been made below. When a witness or evidence is excluded, a complete offer of proof must be made if the issue is to be preserved. That means an affidavit or testimony. A statement by counsel of "Well, she would have said . . . " won't cut it.
5. Experiments are now underway with electronic records. One day soon instead of the Clerk's Record and transcripts we'll all get a CD with the trial court record on it and create our own excerpts of record.
Credibility. Credibility is your most valuable asset and not one to be squandered. Incomplete or disingenuous statements of fact or law are harmful to your cause. As is hyperbole.
Civility. Civility is much more persuasive than incivility.
Conciseness. Choose your best issues and argue them in a logical concise manner. Consider every issue, every paragraph, every word. Include only those that lead to the result you are seeking.
Justice Burdick referenced Strunk and White's Elements of Style. And, he's right. I first read Elements of Style in 1976 and I last read it about six months ago. If you have not read it in a while, it's well worth a revisit. Thirty minutes with Elements can make a world of difference. It should be on your bookshelf or your desk right next to the court rules.
Five other tidbits --
1. The average time from filing of appeal to decision is 400 days.
2. When you prepare the Notice of Appeal, you must identify the court reporter by name for any transcripts you wish to order. If you don't know the name, check with the district court. If they can't help you, check with the Supreme Court Clerk's office.
3. All appellate briefs are now scanned and put on Westlaw. Therefore, the Court does not want juveniles, whether defendants or victims, referred to by their names. Follow the lead of the district court case title -- State v. Doe, State v. T.M., etc.
4. The Court is tightening up on the question of whether an adequate record has been made below. When a witness or evidence is excluded, a complete offer of proof must be made if the issue is to be preserved. That means an affidavit or testimony. A statement by counsel of "Well, she would have said . . . " won't cut it.
5. Experiments are now underway with electronic records. One day soon instead of the Clerk's Record and transcripts we'll all get a CD with the trial court record on it and create our own excerpts of record.
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