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Full-Text Articles in Legal Writing and Research

"Downright Indifference": Examining Unpublished Decisions In The Federal Courts Of Appeals, Merritt E. Mcalister Feb 2020

"Downright Indifference": Examining Unpublished Decisions In The Federal Courts Of Appeals, Merritt E. Mcalister

Michigan Law Review

Nearly 90 percent of the work of the federal courts of appeals looks nothing like the opinions law students read in casebooks. Over the last fifty years, the so-called “unpublished decision” has overtaken the federal appellate courts in response to a caseload volume “crisis.” These are often short, perfunctory decisions that make no law; they are, one federal judge said, “not safe for human consumption.”

The creation of the inferior unpublished decision also has created an inferior track of appellate justice for a class of appellants: indigent litigants. The federal appellate courts routinely shunt indigent appeals to a second-tier appellate …


Out Of Cite, Out Of Mind: Navigating The Labyrinth That Is State Appellate Courts' Unpublished Opinion Practices, Lauren S. Wood Jan 2016

Out Of Cite, Out Of Mind: Navigating The Labyrinth That Is State Appellate Courts' Unpublished Opinion Practices, Lauren S. Wood

University of Baltimore Law Review

Imagine that you are an attorney, litigating an appellate case with an atypical fact pattern. You are familiar with the law; however, its application to your client's circumstances is entirely unclear. After endless hours of research, you finally find it: a factually apposite case with a favorable outcome. Elated, you grab your legal pad to scribble down the case citation. But then you see it-that dreaded text at the top of the opinion: "NOT SELECTED FOR PUBLICATION." This is an unpublished opinion. Perturbed and exhausted, your mind starts racing: "What's that rule again? Can I use this? I think that …


Parades Of Horribles, Circles Of Hell: Ethical Dimensions Of The Publication Controversy, David S. Caudill Sep 2005

Parades Of Horribles, Circles Of Hell: Ethical Dimensions Of The Publication Controversy, David S. Caudill

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Commentary: Unpublication And The Judicial Concept Of Audience, Joan M. Shaughnessy Sep 2005

Commentary: Unpublication And The Judicial Concept Of Audience, Joan M. Shaughnessy

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Dog That Did Not Bark: No-Citation Rules, Judicial Conference Rulemaking, And Federal Public Defenders, Stephen R. Barnett Sep 2005

The Dog That Did Not Bark: No-Citation Rules, Judicial Conference Rulemaking, And Federal Public Defenders, Stephen R. Barnett

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Judicial Triage: Reflections On The Debate Over Unpublished Opinions, David C. Vladeck, Mitu Gulati Sep 2005

Judicial Triage: Reflections On The Debate Over Unpublished Opinions, David C. Vladeck, Mitu Gulati

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Unspoken Questions In The Rule 32.1 Debate: Precedent And Psychology In Judging, David E. Klein Sep 2005

Unspoken Questions In The Rule 32.1 Debate: Precedent And Psychology In Judging, David E. Klein

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Much Ado About The Tip Of An Iceberg, William M. Richman Sep 2005

Much Ado About The Tip Of An Iceberg, William M. Richman

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Much Ado About Little: Explaining The Sturm Und Drang Over The Citation Of Unpublished Opinions, Patrick J. Schiltz Sep 2005

Much Ado About Little: Explaining The Sturm Und Drang Over The Citation Of Unpublished Opinions, Patrick J. Schiltz

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Take A Letter, Your Honor: Outing The Judicial Epistemology Of Hart V. Massanari, Penelope Pether Sep 2005

Take A Letter, Your Honor: Outing The Judicial Epistemology Of Hart V. Massanari, Penelope Pether

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.


Federal And State Court Rules Governing Publication And Citation Of Opinions: An Update, Melissa M. Serfass, Jessie Wallace Cranford Oct 2004

Federal And State Court Rules Governing Publication And Citation Of Opinions: An Update, Melissa M. Serfass, Jessie Wallace Cranford

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.


No-Citation Rules Under Siege: A Battlefield Report And Analysis, Stephen R. Barnett Oct 2003

No-Citation Rules Under Siege: A Battlefield Report And Analysis, Stephen R. Barnett

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.


From Anastasoff To Hart To West's Federal Appendix: The Ground Shifts Under No-Citation Rules, Stephen R. Barnett Apr 2002

From Anastasoff To Hart To West's Federal Appendix: The Ground Shifts Under No-Citation Rules, Stephen R. Barnett

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.


Restrictions On Publication And Citation Of Judicial Opinions: A Reassessment, Robert J. Martineau Oct 1994

Restrictions On Publication And Citation Of Judicial Opinions: A Reassessment, Robert J. Martineau

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In response to the "crisis of volume," state and federal appellate courts have been restricting the opinions they write to those opinions which will: (1) establish a new. rule of law or expand, alter, or modify an existing rule; (2) involve a legal issue of continuing public interest; (3) criticize existing law; or (4) resolve a conflict of authority. All other opinions are limited to brief statements of the reasons for the decision, go unpublished, and generally carry a prohibition against their being cited as precedent. Recently, critics have alleged a number of faults with this practice, including the supposed …


The Myth Of The Disposable Opinion: Unpublished Opinions And Government Litigants In The United States Courts Of Appeals, Lauren K. Robel Apr 1989

The Myth Of The Disposable Opinion: Unpublished Opinions And Government Litigants In The United States Courts Of Appeals, Lauren K. Robel

Michigan Law Review

This article discusses the courts' adoption of the limited publication plans and analyzes the methods used by the courts to discourage the use of unpublished opinions. It also discusses the results of a survey conducted to determine if, and how, government litigants - some of the chief unanticipated beneficiaries of the publication plans make use of unpublished opinions. Finally, it challenges the assumption that limited publication is essential in an age of caseload crisis.