Appearing Before the Court

[Editor’s Note: This month faculty members share their favorite brief writing or oral argument tip. This is the first entry in the series.]

When people ask me about the most helpful tip I can give for writing a brief and appearing in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, my answer is always “preparation, preparation, preparation.” The most effective appellate lawyers have spent an incredible amount of time knowing and understanding their cases and the applicable and relevant law in the area. They have “mooted” their oral arguments a number of times in front of different lawyers or retired judges. Of course, appellate books and training programs tell you to do that as well.

I believe it is perhaps more helpful for me to write about a significant mistake I have seen very well prepared lawyers make. The biggest error by counsel appearing before the Court is to get too close to the case. They know how they want the case to turn out (although occasionally we had an attorney appear who could not exactly explain what he or she believed the mandate line should say if there is a reversal). We all understand that counsel’s objective (rightfully so) is to win it for the client.

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Civil War Sesquicentennial, Part One

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War or, as my friends in the South prefer to call it, the “War of Northern Aggression.” By whatever name, it was the bloodiest war in American history. There were more than 620,000 casualties (in a country with a total population of only 32 million) — more than all the wars we have been immersed in through present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the battlefields of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Gettysburg, nestled in the rolling hills and farmland of Pennsylvania. Walking the wide expanse of fields, climbing the hills, and traversing the countryside was a moving and inspiring experience I am honored to share with you.

Years of debate, rancor, and strong feelings, including fist fights and worse, among members of Congress, culminated in the election of Abraham Lincoln, the prairie lawyer from Illinois, to the Presidency of the United States in 1860. Lincoln’s platform did not mandate the abolition of slavery, but rather pledged to prevent it from being extended into new states and territories in the United States. Nevertheless, zealots on both sides of the issue pressed their positions and unrest continued to fester after Lincoln was sworn in.

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