Appellate

Email Updates Blogs
Last time, we began our review of the data on the criminal docket regarding how often each of the Justices voted with the majority in divided criminal cases between 1990 and 2003.  Today, we’re reviewing the years 2004 through 2018. In Table 1001, we review the most recent data for Justices Burke, Fitzgerald, Freeman, Garman, Karmeier and Kilbride.  Justice Burke was between fifty percent and the seventies in eight of thirteen years.  Justice Burke was…
Tate Reeves should be the one having a good time in Washington, D.C. today. He should have taken the appointment to replace Thad Cochran and fought off Mike Espy’s campaign in 2018. He should be in Washington learning, building relationships and biding his time. It might not be ideal, but it’s not too late. For the good of Mississippi, Tate Reeves should withdraw from the governor’s race and instead run for U.S. Senate in 2020.…
On February 11, 2019 a specially appointed Hinds County Chancellor (Judge James Bell) rendered a $55,000 verdict in Tyrone Lewis v. Lewis et al. You can view the Court’s ruling at this post on Jackson Jambalaya. JJ states: Former Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis won a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Tony Davis, and several other defendants in Hinds County Chancery Court yesterday. Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis sued in June 2015 for an…
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Well, Dr. Jason Bull has done it again. He’s managed to snag a high-dollar client without trying, solve a mystery mid-trial, maneuver the person on trial into pleading the Fifth Amendment, and have a romantic rendezvous with his married ex-wife, all within a single episode. This guy needs a nap. This week’s episode, “Prior Bad Acts,” has a few sub-plots, which makes it kind of fun to watch, but harder to critique. For those who…
Last week, we reviewed the data showing how often each Justice voted with the majority in a divided civil case.  This week, we’re looking at the criminal docket. In Table 997, we review the numbers for five Justices – Bilandic, Calvo, Clark, Cunningham and Fitzgerald.  Justice Bilandic was, for the most part, between sixty and eighty percent.  His rate was 66.67% in 1991 and 62.5% in 1996; 79.17% in 1994, 75% in 1997 and 77.27%…
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Buried in a footnote in the February 7 opinion in a criminal appeal is a helpful reminder for all advocates in the Seventh Circuit, including those handling civil appeals. In United States v. Moody, No. 18-1837 (7th Cir. Feb. 7, 2019), Mr. Moody sought to incorporate an argument by reference from the appellate brief of a trial court co-defendant whose appeal had not been consolidated with his. The court declined to consider the argument,…
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in five cases Feb. 12 and 13, and four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read the briefs in these cases. Ames 2304 v. City of Ames, Zoning Board of Adjustment Scheduled for oral argument Feb. 12, 9 a.m. The City of Ames and the Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment…
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Ever had a stubborn client who refused to consider any plausible explanations for the conduct at issue besides his own? We’ve all been there, and this week, Bull joins the ranks. In this week’s episode of “Bull” (Season 3, Episode 12), we meet New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Julia Martin, who is arrested and charged with evidence tampering on a case she closed (and law enforcement subsequently solved) six years prior. A serial…
On Thursday February 7, 2019, a Hinds County jury in Jackson returned a unanimous $2 million verdict for the plaintiff in Kirkland v. Barnett. Plaintiff Carole Kirkland alleged that Defendant Mary Judith “Judy” Barnett ran a red light at the intersection of Pascagoula and State Street in downtown Jackson causing their cars to violently collide.  Ms. Kirkland suffered a broken wrist and a knee injury that left her with a permanent impairment.  She presented proof of…
Which Justices of the California Supreme Court are most likely to be in the majority in civil cases which draw dissents?  Or to put it in a more practice-driven way – if you’re expecting a contentious case, which Justices’ votes are the likeliest indication of how the majority might come out?  Last time, we reviewed the data for civil cases between 1990 and 2004.  Now, let’s bring the data all the way up to the…