Appellate Law

An Evening with Third Court of Appeals

Posted on March 30, 2011
The Austin Bar Association Civil Appellate Law Section is sponsoring a reception entitled 'An Evening with the Third Court of Appeals' on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Green Pastures, 811 West Live Oak Street.  Admission is $25 with a paid RSVP and $30 at the door...

Texas Appellate E-Filing Goes Live

Posted on March 28, 2011
Here is the text of an e-mail I received from SCOTX Clerk Blake Hawthorne this morning, along with links he included in the message: Effective March 28, 2011, you may electronically file documents, pay your fees, and serve opposing counsel using the Texas...

E-Filing Rollout Rescheduled for March 28

Posted on March 18, 2011
So say the programming people, according to TexParte.  See my last two posts for more information. That should give us plenty of time to try the system out before I speak on appellate e-filing at the 2011 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in San Antonio in late June...

E-Filing Launch Delayed

Posted on March 08, 2011
Texas.gov has pushed back the previously announced March 14, 2011 launch for Texas appellate e-filing, according to Texas Supreme Court Clerk Blake Hawthorne.  In the process of addressing performance issues in Harris County, technical problems have arisen regarding electronic payments...

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At Last, E-Filing Is Coming to Texas Appellate Courts

Posted on March 04, 2011
Four years ago, I first asked when appellate courts would catch up on e-filing.  Since then, the Fifth Circuit has successfully implemented an e-filing program, which has been mandatory for almost a year now.  In state appellate courts, however, the process has been painfully slow...

Chief Justice to Deliver State of Judiciary Address

Posted on February 22, 2011
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson (pictured) will deliver his biennial State of the Judiciary address to a combined session of the Legislature on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:30 am.  You can watch the address live through this link by choosing "Chamber Stream...

SCOTX Heading to the Valley

Posted on February 21, 2011
I am looking forward to attending the Hidalgo County Bar Association's 'An Evening with the Texas Supreme Court' event next Wednesday, March 2, at The Club at Cimarron in Mission, Texas.  Through the efforts of HCBA President-Elect Brandy Wingate, Smith Law Group is among the firms helping to sponsor this event, which will include a cocktail reception and dinner program...

Use of K-9 Units at Traffic Checkpoints

Posted on February 16, 2011
Lujan v. State, No. PD-0303-10, 2011 WL 93025 (Tex. Crim. App. Jan. 12, 2011). On petition for discretionary review, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals approved the use of K-9 units at a stationary traffic checkpoint implemented with the stated purpose of merely identifying unlicensed and uninsured drivers...

Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill, 1914-2011

Posted on February 11, 2011
The Texas Supreme Court has announced the passing of former Chief Justice Joe R. Greenhill (pictured) at age 96.  I suggest taking the time to read the Court's advisory, which briefly traces Judge Greenhill's remarkable legal career. Although Judge Greenhill had been off the bench many years by the time I clerked at the Supreme Court, he actively practiced law and often attended the annual breakfast gathering of current and former justices, law clerks, and staff...

Upcoming Appellate CLE Opportunities

Posted on February 07, 2011
TexasBarCLE and the State Bar Appellate Section are co-sponsoring a new program called "Handling Your First Civil Appeal."  The live session will take place here in Austin on February 18, 2011, and the program will be available via webcast...

Rare Vacatur in Arbitration Appeal

Posted on January 16, 2011
I've been involved in a number of arbitrations in my career, both as lead counsel at the hearing stage and in post-hearing proceedings challenging the award.  I've learned to tell clients that the time to win the case is at the arbitration hearing, because the chances of getting a trial judge or an appellate panel to change the outcome later are slim...

CCA Overrules Clewis's Factual Sufficiency Review

Posted on January 09, 2011
Publisher's Note:  The following is Brandy Wingate's first post on this blog.  Please join me in welcoming Brandy to the blogosphere! In a splintered decision in Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overruled Clewis v...

Exciting Announcements to Begin 2011

Posted on January 01, 2011
These are exciting times for my firm, the Smith Law Group. As we ring in the new year and celebrate this blog's fourth anniversary today, I am pleased to announce that Brandy Wingate (pictured) has joined the practice.  With this addition, the firm has established a second office in the Rio Grande Valley...

Practicing With the iPad

Posted on December 31, 2010
The fourth and final installment in my Texas Lawyer series on technology for lawyers appears in the December 27, 2010 issue.  This time, I wrote about my experience integrating an iPad into my appellate practice.  It's been positive. I have received some nice compliments about the article since it came out, and I hope it encourages those on the fence to go ahead and give the iPad a try...

Rose to Take Waldrop's Seat on 3rd Court

Posted on November 12, 2010
The Governor's Office has announced the appointment of Judge Jeff Rose (pictured) to fill the vacancy created by former Justice Alan Waldrop's resignation from the Third Court of Appeals.  Last week, Judge Rose lost a bid to remain on Travis County's 353rd District Court, a bench to which Governor Perry appointed him following Judge Scott Ozmun's untimely death...

Hall to Update Standards of Review in Texas

Posted on November 04, 2010
The St. Mary's Law Journal will soon publish a new version of W. Wendell Hall's Standards of Review in Texas.  The original article has been revised several times over the years to reflect changes in the law and to cite new and updated authorities...

2010 General Election Results

Posted on November 03, 2010
For results in the contested appellate judicial races, see this post covering the March primary.  The Republican candidates won every seat. That includes Place 3 on the 13th Court of Appeals, a spot incumbent Justice Linda Yañez has held since 1993...

How Lawyers Can Avoid Social Media Burnout

Posted on October 19, 2010
This week's Texas Lawyer contains the third article in my series on technology issues and law practice, "How Lawyers Can Avoid Social Media Burnout" (subscription required).  As the title suggests, the article discusses some ways in which lawyers delving into social media for business development can deal with the overabundance of information thrown at them...

Austin Chronicle Covers Kuhn-Goodwin Race

Posted on October 08, 2010
Today's Austin Chronicle reports on the race between Kurt Kuhn (D) and Melissa Goodwin (R) for an open seat on the Third Court of Appeals.  For several election cycles, only a few percentage points have separated the major-party candidates in contested elections to the Third Court...

SBOT & Austin Bar Appellate Sections on Twitter

Posted on October 04, 2010
The State Bar of Texas Appellate Section (@TexAppOrg) and the Austin Bar Civil Appellate Law Section (@CivAppLaw), have launched their own Twitter feeds.  The idea is to provide current and prospective members another way to keep up with section news, announcements, and events...

Justice Waldrop Leaving Third Court of Appeals

Posted on September 08, 2010
Third Court of Appeals Justice Alan Waldrop (pictured) has tendered his resignation to the Governor, effective September 10.  Austin Legal covers the story here. Governor Perry appointed Justice Waldrop to the Court in August 2005, and he was elected to a six-year term in 2006...

Still Going Strong

Posted on July 12, 2010
Today is the fourth anniversary of my firm. When I first started, even good friends were skeptical.  Austin has far more than its share of lawyers, and a lot of them like to do appellate work.  I made sure people knew who I was and what I was doing, and the business came...

Advertising Rules and Social Media: Texas Style

Posted on July 12, 2010
The second article in my Texas Lawyer series on technology issues and law practice appears in this week's issue and has been republished here through Law.com.  For this installment, I look at the Advertising Review Department's new Internal Interpretive Comment 17, which addresses the interplay between Part VII of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (the advertising and solicitation rules) and websites, blogs, social media, and web-based display ads...

Headed to the State Bar Annual Meeting

Posted on June 09, 2010
I'm heading up to my hometown of Fort Worth to attend the 2010 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting Thursday and Friday.  The Bar has put together an excellent program that should be well worth attending, regardless of one's practice area. I am particularly excited about what is being billed as the "Legal Innovation Track:  The Adaptable Lawyer," which (according to the promotional materials) will address how lawyers can "adapt and flourish in the face of changes in technology and the business of law...

Update on In-House/Appellate CLE Program

Posted on June 03, 2010
The lineup is set for the free CLE seminar the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section is sponsoring on the role of appellate counsel in civil litigation.  An e-brochure with details is available here. This seminar is specifically geared to in-house lawyers and will cover some very timely topics (for example, appellate attorney's fee structures)...

Lehrmann Appointed to Fill O'Neill's SCOTX Seat

Posted on May 29, 2010
Governor Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann (R) (pictured left) to replace Justice Harriet O'Neill, who will vacate Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court effective June 20. To retain the seat, Judge Lehrmann, must defeat First Court of Appeals Justice Jim Sharp (D) (also pictured) in the November general election...

SCOTUS Clerk Speaks to Austin Appellate Bar

Posted on May 21, 2010
Yesterday, I had the privilege of getting sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court bar by the Court's clerk, General William K. Suter (pictured).  The Austin Bar Civil Appellate Section arranged the ceremony for local lawyers who wanted to be admitted and who completed the application process...

SCOTX Amends E-Document Order

Posted on May 06, 2010
The Texas Supreme Court has amended its recent order requiring submission of documents in electronic form.  Among the changes to the previous version are requirements that attorneys (1) provide an e-mail address when submitting e-copies, (2) e-mail courtesy copies to opposing lead counsel, and (3) register for CaseMail in cases in which they are lead counsel...

In-House Attorneys & Role of Appellate Counsel

Posted on May 06, 2010
The State Bar of Texas Appellate Law Section is sponsoring a CLE seminar to be held in Austin geared toward in-house lawyers and the role of appellate counsel.  The event is scheduled for the afternoon of June 24, 2010 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center and will be followed by a cocktail reception...

Lehrmann to Face Sharp for Open SCOTX Seat

Posted on April 14, 2010
The Associated Press is reporting that Judge Debra Lehrmann (pictured) has defeated Rick Green in the runoff to determine the Republican candidate for Place 3 on the Texas Supreme Court.  Judge Lehrmann will face Democratic nominee Justice Jim Sharp to fill the seat being vacated by Justice Harriet O'Neill...

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