• Briefing,  Publication/Depublication

    Should a respondent always move to strike a defective appellant’s opening brief?

    A brief must “[s]tate each point under a separate heading or subheading summarizing the point, and support each point by argument and, if possible, by citation of authority.” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.204(a)(1)(B).) A party may move to strike the adverse party’s brief if it fails to comply with this or other requirements of rule 8.204. (Rule 8.204(e)(2).) A leading practice guide advocates that a respondent should immediately file a motion to strike an appellant’s opening brief, that is “so defective that it appears likely the appellate court will order it stricken in whole or in part [.]” (Eisenberg, Cal. Prac. Guide: Civil Appeals & Writs (The Rutter Group…

  • Publication/Depublication,  Sanctions

    Thoughts on publication of opinions imposing appellate sanctions for frivolousness

    This recent Southern California Appellate News post by Ben Shatz led me to a case that got me thinking further about the utility of publishing opinions imposing appellate sanctions. More than six years ago, I posted in response to a law review article that Ben co-authored with another, which surveyed the cases imposing appellate sanctions. As I recall, the article limited the time frame of the survey to the period since unpublished decisions became available online, since so many of the decisions imposing sanctions are never published. That led me to write: I was struck by how many of the cited cases were unreported.  The Court of Appeal should want…

  • Appellate Procedure,  Blogging,  Publication/Depublication

    Help Out Law Blogger Kimberly Kralowec

    Looks like this is the week for appellate bloggers to embark on projects and solicit help from their readers. Unbeknownst to me until now, the day before I announced my intent to publish a series of posts on the reluctance of lawyers and clients to engage appellate counsel, Kimberly Kralowec (pictured left) at The Appellate Practitioner (better know for her excellent The UCL Practitioner) announced that she will be examining what works when asking the Supreme Court to depublish a case. Toward that end, she’s asking readers to submit successful depublication requests. Send them to her at uclpractitioner@gmail.com.