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Complex business disputes often escalate into litigation, which eventually ends in the appellate courts, making appellate strategy a critical component in the pursuit of a favorable outcome. The intricate dynamics of these cases demand astute legal analysis, meticulous planning, and persuasive advocacy skills, factors that could tip the scales of justice in...

I had the honor of receiving a rare accolade from a federal appeals court in its published opinion. I represented Marcus Conner in Conner v. Reagle, a habeas corpus appeal that asserted Mr. Conner’s constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated. The odds were heavily stacked against Mr. Conner, as less than...

A seminal First Amendment decision was just issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Missouri v. Biden, the Plaintiffs alleged that federal officials violated the First Amendment by coercing social media platforms to censor disfavored speech. The federal district court of Louisiana agreed, and the Fifth Circuit partially affirmed....

The Seventh Circuit has issued its annual report for 2022, and once again, the trend is down. The number of appeals filed in 2022 was 2,362, a decrease of 5% from 2021. This cannot be attributed to the pandemic or economic forces alone. Examining the bigger picture, the number has steadily declined...

A federal appeals court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing software provider Salesforce of violating sex-trafficking laws. The tech giant became ensnared in the suit due to its business involvement with Backpage.com, a notorious—and now defunct—website that served as an online portal for the sex trade. Shuttered in 2018, the sordid legacy of...

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, is an Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that reforms the criminal justice system. It represents a shift in the approach to policing, pretrial detention, bail, sentencing, and corrections. The law was previously addressed in this blog. 

Appeals often focus on whether a trial court made a legal or procedural mistake that affected the outcome of the case. Common appellate issues include errors of law, procedural errors, improper evidentiary rulings, flawed jury instructions, and findings that are not supported by the record. A successful appeal usually requires more than...

Litigation is a costly endeavor. Failing to ensure you are in the correct court after years of litigating can thus have costly consequences. This dilemma was on recent display when a federal appeals court tossed a case that had been litigated in federal court for four years because subject-matter jurisdiction was...