Do appellate judges want to hear from you at oral argument? Contrary to many appellate practitioners' perspective in California state courts, Judge Robert Bacharach of the 10th Circuit tells appellate attorneys Jeff Lewis and me that the unwritten rule among federal appellate judges is to come to conference with a tentative vote, otherwise they won't get assigned authorship.
Despite this, however, Judge Bacharach has changed his mind many times based on oral argument, and once even wrote two separate opinions, one to affirm, and the other to reverse!
Watch the clip here.
This clip is from a June 2021 interview in episode 12 of the California Appellate Law Podcast here.
Tim Kowal helps trial attorneys and clients win their cases and avoid error on appeal. He co-hosts the Cal. Appellate Law Podcast at www.CALPodcast.com, and publishes a newsletter of appellate tips for trial attorneys at www.tvalaw.com/articles. His appellate practice covers all of California's appellate districts and throughout the Ninth Circuit, with appellate attorneys in offices in Orange County and Monterey County. Contact Tim at tkowal@tvalaw.com or (714) 641-1232.