The Weekly Roundup strives to provide you a quick look at some of the most recent developments in appellate practice, including information about the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate courts, and state appellate courts, as well as some tips and techniques for appellate advocacy being discussed on the web.  If you seek information you think should be included, please drop an email to Daniel Real at DReal@Creighton.edu.

U.S. Supreme Court:

  • On Monday, the Court heard arguments in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment. The case involved a billion-dollar judgment against Cox Communications for failing to eradicate copyright infringement by its customers.  Sony sued Cox, alleging that many of Cox’s subscribers had committed copyright infringement and that Cox had continued to provide internet access to subscribers for whom it had received repeated notice of such infringement from content providers like Sony. The Court seemed skeptical of imposing liability on Cox.
  • On Tuesday, the Court heard arguments in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin.  The case involved a claim by a group of faith-based pregnancy centers that New Jersey subpoenas of information including donors and documents sent to donors violated the groups’ First Amendment rights.  The specific question to be answered is whether the groups can challenge the alleged First Amendment violations in a federal court or whether they must litigate their claim in state proceedings, as state courts are typically the proper venue for quashing or enforcing subpoenas. The Court appeared sympathetic to the arguments presented by the pregnancy centers.
  • On Wednesday, the Court heard arguments in Olivier v. City of Brandon, Mississippi. The case involved a Mississippi pastor who was convicted in 2021 after entering a no contest plea to a charge of violating an ordinance requiring public demonstrations outside of an amphitheater in Brandon, Mississippi, to be conducted within a designated protest area. A few months after his no contest plea and conviction, he brought a Section 1983 claim against the City, seeking to enjoin future enforcement of the ordinance. The district court dismissed the claim, citing a 1994 SCOTUS decision that held convicted criminals cannot challenge a law they were previously convicted under when the judgment would necessarily imply the invalidity of their prior conviction.

Federal Appellate Courts:

  • On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a case involving the release of hundreds of detainees taken into custody as part of Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago earlier in the year.  A lower court ordered the detainees could be released on bond; the appeals court temporarily halted that release pending these arguments.

State Appellate Courts:

Appellate Advocacy Tips and Techniques:

  • Bloomberg Law has released a new documentary, “Supreme Advocacy: What it Takes to Argue at the Supreme Court.”  The documentary offers behind-the-scenes views of a veteran Supreme Court advocate preparing to argue on behalf of a girl with a disability in an education rights case, insights from a former Solicitor General, legal journalists, and others.  It offers insight into the strategy, pressure, and nuances of preparing and arguing before the nation’s highest court.  The documentary can be viewed on Youtube.
Daniel Real

Daniel Real has been a member of the Creighton Law faculty for more than 20 years. He teaches required legal analysis and writing courses for first and second year students, upper level advanced writing and analysis courses, Professional Responsibility, Commercial Contracts, and Sports…

Daniel Real has been a member of the Creighton Law faculty for more than 20 years. He teaches required legal analysis and writing courses for first and second year students, upper level advanced writing and analysis courses, Professional Responsibility, Commercial Contracts, and Sports Law. He is the faculty advisor for the Sports Law Concentration, and he serves as the faculty moderator for the student Sports and Entertainment Law Society. He has been a coach for Creighton School of Law’s highly successful third year National Moot Court Teams since the 2008-2009 academic year, and also coaches other nationally competitive moot court and negotiations teams. He is a member of the Legal Writing Institute, a national organization of legal writing and skills instructors, and is the former chair of the LWI Website and Social Media committee. He served on the diversity committee for the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). He is a member of the Appellate Practice Section of the Nebraska State Bar Association and was one of the organizing editors for the NSBA Appellate Practice Manual.  He is the author of Thompson Reuters Publishing’s Nebraska Appellate Practice and Procedure Handbook and its annual updates.  His other published scholarship and national presentations have focused on written and oral advocacy, appellate practice, implicit bias, bar exam preparation, and sports law. Prior to becoming a member of the faculty, he served as a judicial staff attorney for the Nebraska Court of Appeals for 20 years.

Research Focus

Implicit Bias, Judicial Selection and Retention, Collaborative Learning, Legal Writing, Appellate Practice, Professional Responsibility

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