Around this time last year, I took a look at statistics showing that the filing of new civil appeals had declined in federal courts and in Maine. As I observed then, the 2020 statistics had not yet fully captured the
Pierce Atwood
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Tricky Issues of Appellate Procedure: Timeliness and Cross-Appeals Edition
Yesterday the Law Court, in an opinion written by Justice Connors, Concord General Mutual Ins. Co. v. Estate of Collette J. Boure, touched on two important appellate issues – one of which has been addressed often on this blog. …
It’s Time to Clarify When Cross-Appeals Are Necessary
Much has been said on this blog about when one should cross-appeal, given the Law Court’s jurisprudence on the topic. I most recently addressed the issue here. As I noted then, there is some tension between the text of…
A New Experiment In Oral Arguments
For Supreme Court watchers and appellate practitioners, last week brought an interesting development – the Court is changing how it conducts oral argument. Arguments will now feature both unstructured questioning by all justices and then uninterrupted questioning by individual justices.…
Ballot Question Challenges – To Expedite or Not to Expedite? That Is the Question.
The Law Court recently issued a decision in Caiazzo v. Secretary of State that was interesting on several levels. (Full disclosure: this blogger represented the petitioner in the appeal). One procedural aspect of the decision is particularly interesting, as it…
The Appellate Judges Education Institute
Any good appellate lawyer, and any good appellate judge, is always learning. One great avenue for professional growth is the Council of Appellate Lawyers, which is the ABA’s unique appellate bench-bar organization. CAL’s mission is to foster a dialogue…
Administrative Appeals: The Remedy When the Fact Finder Doesn’t Make Factual Findings
What is the remedy in an administrative appeal when the fact-finder doesn’t do its job by making findings of fact to explain its decision? As the Law Court recently reaffirmed in Fair Elections Portland, Inc. v. City of Portland,…
Aiding and Abetting, Conspiracy, and The Picture of Dorian Gray
It isn’t every day that the Law Court addresses claims of civil conspiracy or aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, but that is exactly what the court did in Meridian Medical Systems, LLC v. Epix Therapeutics, Inc. – with…
Interlocutory Appeals and Judicial Efficiency
In a recent blog post, I explored the application of the final judgment rule to appeals from preliminary injunction orders in state court. As I noted, the Law Court has recently applied the “death knell” exception to that rule…
All Cleaned Up
Appellate advocacy is about persuasion – and the most important avenue for persuading appellate judges is a brief that is clear, concise, and readable. So what does an appellate attorney do when confronted by the need to quote a passage…