WeeklyRoundupGraphic

Each week, the Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup presents a few tidbits of news and Twitter posts from the past week concerning appellate advocacy. As always, if you see something during the week that you think we should be sure to include, feel free to send a quick note to either (1) Dan Real at DReal@Creighton.edu or on Twitter (@Daniel_L_Real) or (2) Catharine Du Bois at DuBoisLegalWriting@gmail.com or on Twitter @CLDLegalWriting.

U.S. Supreme Court News:

As discussed by Bloomberg Law this week, the Court’s practice of “relisting” cases can give insight into which cases the justices are interested in hearing.  The article explains the process, how it works, and what it might mean to see a case relisted.

Federal Appellate Court Opinions and News:

One of the biggest areas of interest to watch during President-Elect Biden’s next couple of years is what happens with the federal judiciary.  There has been much discussion of how the makeup of the judiciary has been shaped over the last several years by Republican control of the Senate and President Trump’s nominations.  Now, with a Democratic President and Senate, much attention is being paid to how Biden might make his mark on moving the balance of the judiciary.

    • Bloomberg Law had an article discussing how the outcome of the special runoff election for Georgia’s two Senate seats has opened a path for Biden to make a bold push, if he wants it.  Law 360 had an article diving into potential nominees that Biden might tap for vacancies.

This week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an automatic life sentence without parole is cruel and unusual punishment for intellectually disabled adults.  See the opinion in Avalos v. Texas HERE.

This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Indiana’s practice of requiring sex offender registration for people who move into the state in situations where it would not require registration of Indiana residents is unconstitutional.  See the opinion in Hope v. Commissioner HERE.

Appellate Practice Tips and Pointers:

See this article from Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy, from June 2007, about breaking into appellate law.

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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