The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process is a must-read for appellate advocates and judges. The latest issue is no exception. It begins with an article by Professor Michael J. Hasday titled Accuracy and the Robot JudgeThis article explores whether it can be shown that robot judges are more accurate than human judges. The next article, Judging Class Certification as a Matter of Law, by Attorney Brian Sutherland suggests that courts should review class certification decisions as questions of law rather than as matters of discretion. In Driving Efficiency and Public Confidence: Integrating Quality Management Practices in the Federal Appellate Court System, Jarrett B. Perlow, the Circuit Executive and Clerk of Courts for the Federal Circuit, shares data on federal court performance and quality measures. Professor Colleen Garrity Settineri’s article In Conclusion, . . . ” Are We Missing an Opportunity to Persuade? shares the first taxonomy of possibilities for the conclusion section of a brief. The issue concludes with two book reviews. The first,  The Case for a Casebook on Legal Writing: A Review of The Case for Effective Legal Writing, written by Justice Gerald Lebovits, reviews the first casebook on legal writing, The Case for Effective Legal Writing, by Professors Diana Simon and Mark Cooney. And Professor Sylvia J. Lett gives us Book Review: Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism, a review of Justice Stephen Breyer’s latest book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism.

Photo of Charles Oldfield Charles Oldfield

Charles W. Oldfield is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of Legal Writing. Before joining the law school, he was an attorney at Green Haines Sgambati Co., L.P.A., and a law clerk in the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. The focus…

Charles W. Oldfield is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of Legal Writing. Before joining the law school, he was an attorney at Green Haines Sgambati Co., L.P.A., and a law clerk in the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. The focus of his legal practice included appellate law, labor and employment law, and education law.  He has argued cases before several Ohio district courts of appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  He is admitted to practice in Ohio, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

He is a graduate of The University of Akron School of Law (1999), magna cum laude, and Bluefield State College. He has served as President of The University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and as an Akron Law trial team coach. He has taught seminars for the Ohio Association for Justice, Ohio Education Association, and Community Legal Aid.