“To the uninitiated, oral argument is the denouement of every appeal; the moment when the great appellate orators clash and the appellate court considers how to rule. But for those that have been around the appellate block more than once or twice, loss of innocence is discovering that the appellate court has a draft opinion already written before the oral argument,” writes Gary A. Watt. 

In his article, Gary discusses the negative impact on oral argument created by the 90-day rule, whereby at the conclusion of oral argument, the court has 90 days to issue an opinion or the justices don’t get paid. Gary concludes by suggesting that the vitality of oral argument can be enhanced by increased use of focus letters or adopting a tentative ruling system.

Gary A. Watt is a partner at Archer Norris and a member of the firm’s appellate practice team. He teaches appellate advocacy at UC Hastings, is director of the Hastings Appellate Project’s 9^th Circuit clinical program and chair of the Contra Costa County Bar Association’s appellate practice section.

The article was originally published in the Daily Journal and subscription-based Daily Journal website at www.dailyjournal.com.