What Happens Next?

That's the question I most often hear from clients and/or their loved ones during the appellate process. The whole procedure proceeds in fits and starts, benefiting in some places from rigorous deadlines while suffering in others for the lack thereof. Once a briefing schedule is set, the deadlines for briefs is fairly solid. But once briefs are submitted, things can stretch out for what seems like forever. Howard Bashman talks about that kind of delay in his column this week. Although he talks about the Third Circuit, the timeline seems about the same in the Fourth. But trying explaining to a client or family member that the court may take several months before they even decide whether to hear oral arguments in the case.

On another note, I love lines like this:

One idea that I continue to support is a proposal that the Superior Court should stop allowing counsel to decide whether appeals will be orally argued. Instead, the Superior Court's judges should decide whether a given appeal deserves oral argument.

Holy cow, is he kidding? Seems like I've got to make a human sacrifice to get oral argument in the Fourth!