I am a steadfast advocate for keeping junk science out of courtrooms—for federal judges fulfilling their expert testimony gatekeeper role under Federal Rule of Evidence 702. But should Rule 702’s reliability criteria, which are traceable to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), formally apply to amicus briefs that contain scientific or […]
A Solution In Search of a Problem? Read More »
As a Big Law alumnus who writes and reads a lot of amicus briefs, I’m neither impressed nor surprised by a newly published statistical analysis, Ideological Leanings in Likely Pro Bono BigLaw Amicus Briefs in the United States Supreme Court, Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y Per Curiam (Winter 2024). The analysis, conducted by Prof. Derek
Amicus Brief-Based Analysis of Big Law Firms’ Ideological Leanings Proves Little Read More »
Power Points Updated June 2023 In June 2018 I was delighted to have recorded for DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar an on-demand webinar entitled Friendly Persuasion: Drafting & Using High-Impact Amicus Briefs. The webinar is intended for (i) trade associations, professional organizations, advocacy groups, and individual corporations that are interested in providing – or that get
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On June 9, I spoke to about 25 members of the International Network of Boutique and Independent Law Firms (INBLF) at it annual Litigation Fly-In near O’Hare International Airport. Jack Henning of Dillingham & Murphy LLP (San Francisco), and Fly-In participants, grilled me for almost an hour on Strategic Use and Effective Preparation of Amicus
INBLF Litigation Fly-In Covers Broad Range of Topics, Including Amicus Briefs Read More »
“What could be better than a federal judge’s open invitation that not only offers a junior attorney the incentive to be the principal author of a brie, but also the rare opportunity to present oral argument on behalf of an amicus curiae?” On March 21, 2023, Judge Lee P. Rudofsky of the U.S. District Court
Is A Federal District Judge’s Amicus Invitation To Junior Attorneys A Good Idea? Read More »
On behalf of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, Larry Ebner, who chairs the Center, has submitted a letter to the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure recommending that Fed. R. App. P. 29(a) be amended to eliminate the requirement to obtain the parties’ consent, or the court’s permission,
On behalf of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, I have submitted a letter to the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee recommending that Fed. R. App. P. 29(a) be amended to eliminate the requirement to obtain the parties’ consent, or the court’s permission, for filing amicus briefs. The Center’s recommendation follows the recent elimination
When the Supreme Court announced that effective January 1, 2023, it no longer will require the parties’ consent, or the Court’s permission, to file an amicus brief, Capital Appellate Advocacy founder Larry Ebner posted a short alert about this development on LinkedIn. After that alert – which proposed that that the same requirement be eliminated
Widely Read Op-Ed Urges Eliminating Amicus Consent Requirement In Federal Appeals Courts Read More »
The Supreme Court on December 5 announced revisions to its rules—including elimination of the requirement that an amicus curiae obtain either the parties’ consent or the Court’s permission prior to filing its friend-of-the-court brief. “Deleting the consent requirement reflects how commonplace the filing of amicus briefs has become in the Supreme Court. The federal courts of appeals should follow
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“Writing amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) briefs is my favorite activity as an appellate lawyer,” Capital Appellate Advocacy founder and Atlantic Legal Foundation Executive Vice President & General Counsel Larry Ebner explains at the beginning of his recent article, How To Draft An Amicus Brief That Actually Gets Read. Published by the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel in
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