It’s not every day that the Court of Appeals spends almost 12 pages talking about the appellate rules, including why rules compliance is so important. But that’s exactly what the
Continue Reading We’re Not Reading All That! The Court of Appeals Sanctions One Appellant While Warning Everyone Else Not to Use an Appendix to Violate the Court of Appeals Word-Count Limit
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
Continue Reading At Trial: Court of Appeals Defines Time Within Which Oral Notice of Appeal May Be Given in Criminal Cases
Can an appellee say that the lower court got it wrong? If so, when?
In many appeals, the alignment of interests is clear: the appellant is the party who disagrees
Continue Reading What’s in a Name? Court of Appeals Strikes an “Appellee” Brief
The Court of Appeals’ latest batch of opinions includes several reminders about the importance of proving that appellate jurisdiction is proper in an appellant’s opening brief. Not in a conclusory
Continue Reading Relying on a Motion to Dismiss Response to Address Appellate Jurisdiction Arguments? Maybe Don’t Count on It
Last year, I blogged about State v. Ellis where a passing motorist gave a Highway Patrol trooper the middle-finger salute and was arrested for his trouble. A divided Court of
Continue Reading Appellate Rulings Not Argued By Any Party; or Too Many Fingers in the Pie
Back in March, the Court of Appeals in Ramsey v. Ramsey dismissed a party’s appeal for cumulative non-jurisdictional violations that the Court described as “gross and substantial noncompliance with the
Continue Reading Is Dogwood’s Bark Losing Its Bite?
On Friday, the Supreme Court displayed how busy it has been this summer by releasing 17 authored opinions. Justice Per Curiam (who is fond of affirming/reversing “for the reasons
Continue Reading Taking Care of Business (Part I): Rule 3.1 No-Merit Briefs Warrant (At Least Some Form of) Appellate Review
Back in July, the Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in In re L.V. dismissing an appeal from an order terminating parental rights after the parent’s attorney filed
Continue Reading The Plot Thickens: Differing Opinions on No-Merit Briefs
At first blush, it might not seem surprising that the Court of Appeals would dismiss an appeal if “[n]o issues have been argued or preserved for review.” But what is
Continue Reading What Type of Review Is Triggered by a “No-Merit” Brief?
There is perhaps no truer aphorism of appellate jurisdiction than this: The substantial right doctrine is more easily stated than applied. In light of the Court of Appeals’ opinion last
Continue Reading You Can Say That Again: The Substantial Right Doctrine Is More Easily Stated Than Applied