Whether you are gearing up to sit for the Appellate Specialization exam in the next few weeks or just looking to hone your appellate practice skills, the North Carolina Bar Association and the Appellate Rules Committee presented a wealth of useful information yesterday at the “Improving Your Appellate Practice: Gateway to Specialization” CLE held at the Bar Center. 

The Committee geared the CLE towards the specialization exam, but by all accounts the information was invaluable for testtakers and the rest of us alike.  Though there were many highlights, I think the final segment served as the perfect capstone.  Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Exum and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr delivered a “best” and “worst” appellate oral argument on a real Supreme Court case from the late ’90s involving “mooning.”  Seriously.  The panel of jurists–including Fourth Circuit Judge Jim Wynn, former N.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Sid Eagles, and North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson–couldn’t help themselves in picking apart the former Justices with their puns and incredulity. 

The CLE will be replayed by video in several locations in the coming months.  I understand that the CLE is not available online at this time.

Many thanks to Justice Bob Edmunds and Julie Youngman for planning such a useful day.