Don’t Skip The Reply Brief
Having the final word in an argument or debate can prove decisive. For litigators, it is thus an opportunity that should not be wasted. Yet, a recent United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decision laments that many lawyers do just that. The Seventh Circuit highlighted the disturbing trend...
Is Your Federal Appellate Brief Appendix Complete?
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit highlights the imperative nature of attaching an appendix that adheres to the federal rules of appellate procedure. While federal appellate courts across the country enforce the appendix requirement, the Seventh Circuit is a stickler. The case, United States v. Harold...
The Seventh Circuit As An Outlier
As noted in my last post, the Seventh Circuit recently issued its annual report for 2022. Along with the number of appellate filings for 2022, the annual report also details a slew of stats on other matters, including comparisons between the Seventh Circuit and the other federal appellate circuit courts. Two merit mention here....
Seventh Circuit Win on Appellate Sanctions
This week, an appellate opinion was issued by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Kinsella v. Baker Hughes. I represented the Appellant in this appeal of an arbitration ruling. The Appellee contended my client pursued a frivolous appeal and sought Rule 38 sanctions. While the Seventh Circuit ultimately rebuffed our position...
Seventh Circuit Win
This week, I won a reversal in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The case, Bradley v. Village of University Park, concerns the constitutional issue of procedural due process. However, this appeal focused on whether the law of the case doctrine and mandate rule applied. This is the second time the case...
The SAFE-T Act, Stalled, For Now
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—a lightning rod in the debate over crime and punishment—was...