Civil lawyers love written notices of appeal. Have you ever heard a civil attorney say, “I wish I could orally notice an appeal”? Me neither. But the criminal trial bar overwhelmingly give oral notices of appeal in state...more
Big news out of the Court of Appeals for criminal practitioners. In State v. McLean, the Court of Appeals addressed a notice of appeal that was given orally the day after the trial ended and the defendant was sentenced. There...more
The Commission on Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure, created by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2021, and tasked with considering whether the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure (“NRAP”) should be updated, recently filed a...more
Thirty years ago, Justice Scalia famously described the Supreme Court’s Lemon test as “some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed and...more
On Oct. 13, the Supreme Court of North Carolina adopted amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. The new rules will impact all appellate cases beginning Jan. 1, 2022....more
1. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RECORD. The first question I’m typically asked by a prospective appellate client is “How can we tell the appellate court about all the emails from my ex-husband (credit card receipts, nasty texts) my...more
Rule 3 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure seems pretty clear. A Notice of Appeal must "designate the judgment or order from which appeal is taken." But what might seem clear on its face isn't always so...more
The road to an appellate court can be lined with unanticipated obstacles, You can avoid them if you follow the NC Rules of Appellate Procedure and you keep up with changes in the law regarding appeals. Or you might retain a...more