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New Certiorari And A National Study Of The Appeals Courts, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Elitism, Expediency, and the New Certiorari: Requiem for the Learned Hand Tradition is a thought-provoking critique of the United States Courts of Appeals. Professors William Richman and William Reynolds maintain that dramatic increases in appellate filings have transformed the appeals courts during the last quarter-century, prompting systemic constriction of procedural opportunities, particularly for parties with few resources or little power. The authors find these changes profoundly troubling and propose that Congress radically expand the number of appellate judges.

Individuals and institutions, such as expert study committees, which have analyzed the federal courts, agree with much of the authors' descriptive assessment. …