Storming the real world

25 September 2009 • Ricardo J. Bascuas • 4 Comments » • Tags: None

I keep a foothold over in what we in academia call the “real world”. Wednesday, in fact, I had both feet firmly planted before an Eleventh Circuit panel, which is about as real as this gets. And, as I’ve previously suggested, the ability to write persuasively is important out there. So, with considerable help from our FPD alumna Kathleen Williams and the support of the Eleventh Circuit, I am leveraging my real-world beachhead to provide some real-world experience in appellate advocacy for some of our students.

The Eleventh Circuit has green-lighted my proposal to be assigned pro bono a few criminal appeals for indigent defendants with non-complex cases. I will supervise pairs of students who will plan and US-CourtOfAppeals-11thCircuit-Seal_0.pngwrite the briefs. Kathy has designated AFPD Beatriz Galbe Bronis to supervise me, which Beatriz has some experience doing. See Enrique Marugan Giró v. Banco Español de Crédito, 1999 WL 440462 (S.D.N.Y. June 28, 1999). Students will be selected through essentially the same application process that the School uses for its other live-client clinics. I hope to feature guest appearances by other luminous appellate lawyers from the community. For instance, another of my former bosses, alumnus Judge Adalberto Jordan, who celebrates 10 years on the district court bench this week and was previously chief of appeals at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, can expect a call.

Beatriz and I are working out the details. The upshot is that the FPD’s Office gets a hand with a small number of relatively simple cases, and some of our students have an opportunity to enhance their written advocacy skills.

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4 Comments on “Storming the real world”

  1. 1 Anonymous said at 8:46 pm on September 25th, 2009:

    Sign me up!

  2. 2 Joseph H. Wolenski said at 10:08 am on September 28th, 2009:

    the opportunity to have your name in a reported federal appeals case is huge. The writing experience alone will help separate you from the pack.

    I’ve been practicing criminal defense for two years and only one time did the opportunity for an appeal present itself. I learned a lot writing a “real” brief, and I wish I had more exposure in law school.

  3. 3 Anonymous said at 11:57 am on September 28th, 2009:

    Clean Facebook accounts required.

  4. 4 Anonymous said at 8:11 pm on October 4th, 2009:

    As a current clerk on a court of appeals, please professor, please, please, please teach your students to not throw in the kitchen sink. If there is any sure way to get their clients as little attention as possible, it is to thrown in every conceivable argument. They lose credibility with each argument. The good ones are lost.

    I know this advice is thrown about a lot, but it doesn’t seem to be applied by many. Your appeal doesn’t stand a better chance the more arguments you toss in; it doesn’t work by random draw, with each argument being one extra raffle ticket. Instead, a judge may view your eight-points-of-error appeal as suspect, thinking “really? what judge out there is that bad that he committed eight reversible errors?” Maybe there is a judge like that, but I doubt it is yours. Also, teach the students about the different levels of scrutiny an appellate court will give to a judge’s decisions. I doubt there has ever been a perfect trial, but not every mistake is a game-changer. Don’t toss it in because, well, “just maybe . . . .”