Court of Appeals Petition Rulings Unmasked
Continue Reading Unmasked: Court of Appeals to Begin Disclosing Identities and Votes of Members of Petition Panel … 90 Days Later
The Art of Persuasion: The Supreme Court Disputes Where to Look
If there is no binding precedent on point, where does the Supreme Court of North Carolina look for guidance? Which are more persuasive: federal court opinions or North Carolina Court
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How Important Is Oral Argument In The Fourth Circuit?
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many changes in the legal profession over the last 10 months. Those receiving the most focus have been, for obvious reasons, things like remote proceedings
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Has the Court of Appeals Unfriended Its Amicus?
The recent opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in M.E. v. T.J., No. COA18-1045 has more twists than a Chubby Checker look-alike contest. The opinion is
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Another Published Denial of Rehearing, Another 4th Circuit Case to the Supreme Court?
Almost two years ago, 
I blogged about a relatively rare phenomenon: a published denial of a petition for rehearing. Back then, two recent Fourth Circuit cases had produced petitions for
Continue Reading Another Published Denial of Rehearing, Another 4th Circuit Case to the Supreme Court?
Taking Care of Business (Part I): Rule 3.1 No-Merit Briefs Warrant (At Least Some Form of) Appellate Review
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
Right for the Wrong Reasons, Redux
NOTICE: Take the following post with a grain of salt. The Court of Appeals issued an updated opinion in the Ellis case on 20 August 2019. Although the opinion is
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The Two-Judge Appellate Panel
Last week I blogged about an en banc opinion from the Fourth Circuit for which authorship of the majority opinion was attributed to two judges. (See here) This week
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Appellate Review of Trial Court Reasoning
Unlike in federal court, judges in North Carolina’s state courts often invite counsel for the prevailing party to draft a proposed order on the court’s ruling. Sometimes the judge will
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Where’s (Judge) Waldo?–The Role of Substitute Judges under the Appellate Rules and Rules of Civil Procedure
Imagine that Judge Waldo has orally ruled against your client. A proposed written order has been submitted by the parties to the trial court. You are gearing up for an
Continue Reading Where’s (Judge) Waldo?–The Role of Substitute Judges under the Appellate Rules and Rules of Civil Procedure