Appellate Advocacy (LAW-847-004)
Wolfman, Gupta
Meets: 06:00 PM - 07:50 PM (M) - Room 504
Enrolled: 12 / Limit: 14
Notices
There are no notices at this time.
Description
The Appellate Courts and Advocacy Workshop combines a substantive review of key appellate litigation doctrines concerning appellate jurisdiction, standards of review, and other topics, with an intensive advocacy component, ranging from motion and brief writing to oral argument. The course considers each stage of the appellate litigation process, beginning with a general overview, moving to the various bases for appellate jurisdiction in the federal courts, then discussing standards of review, and concluding with an intense review of the anatomy of an appellate brief. We will also briefly consider U.S. Supreme Court practice.. There are about a half dozen small to medium-sized writing assignments. These assignments do two things: They introduce students to some aspect of appellate practice and demand application of one or more of the course’s doctrinal topics. In addition to these smaller assignments, students are also responsible for writing an appellate brief and conducting an oral argument. For all assignments, students are provided copies of relevant practice rules, statutes, cases, and other items. No outside research is involved. The doctrinal portion of the course, and the corresponding small to medium-sized writing assignments, will be covered during the first two-thirds of the course. The appellate brief and oral argument will be completed at the end of the Term. In addition to classroom sessions, students will have one-on-one meetings with the teachers to review draft appellate briefs. The instructors are Brian Wolfman and Deepak Gupta, Director and staff lawyer, respectively, at Public Citizen Litigation Group (PCLG), a public interest law firm in Washington, D.C. Together, they have litigated dozens of cases in courts of appeals and in the Supreme Court. To learn about PCLG’s work generally, and its Supreme Court Assistance Project specifically, go to www.citizen.org/litigation and ,www.citizen.org/litigation/supremecourt, respectively.
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
First Class Readings
Not available at this time.