Don’t Forget To Object To Unpreserved Arguments

Notwithstanding significant recent developments in the law concerning appellate review of unpreserved arguments and issues, the general rule remains that a party cannot raise an issue on appeal unless she has preserved it in the trial court. That rule, however, is not self-executing; it can be waived.  If a party raises an issue for the first time on appeal and the opposing party does not object, the Appellate Court can go right ahead and review the unpreserved issue on its merits.

Read the rest of this entry »

30,000 Hits!

Dear Friends:

Just moments ago we surpassed 30,000 hits!  That’s more than double the number of views we had in the same period last year.  Thank you so much for your continued interest in Appealingly Brief!   I’m having a great time blogging, and the increased readership suggests folks are finding something worthwhile in what I have to say (at least on occasion).  So I’ll keep on writing and please keep on reading!

Warmly,

Dan Klau

Appellate Judges: Umpires Or Gods?, Ctd

The Litigation Section of the Connecticut Bar Association has invited former state Supreme Court Justice Ian McLachlan and noted appellate advocate Linda Morkan to discuss the Connecticut Supreme Court’s recent decision in Blumberg Associates Worldwide v. Brown and Brown.  As I’ve discussed in prior posts, the decision addresses the circumstances under which appellate courts can resolve appeals based on unpreserved issues that the appellate judges raise sua sponte.

The McLachlan/Morkan presentation will take place at the Litigation Section’s meeting on March 4, 2014, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Carmen Anthony’s Steakhouse in New Haven.  It should be a great meeting.  Click here to register!

The Role Of Victims In Court

Andrew Sullivan has an interesting post today on his blog, The Dish, linking to two articles exploring the role of victims in criminal proceedings. 

One article, by Paul Cassell, discusses moving away from the traditional two-sided model, “State v. Defendant,” to a three-sided model in which victims enforce their own rights (for example, to restitution or compensation) alongside prosecutors acting on behalf of the state.  Cassell argues that “[t]his change is long overdue, as crime victims have their own independent concerns in the process that ought to be recognized.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Appealingly Brief! 2013 In Review

Dear Readers: The year 2013 represented the first full year of posts on Appealingly Brief!.  The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared an annual report for the blog.  Thank you for your continued interest and readership in my mere mental musings!

Here’s an excerpt from the annual report:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 17,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Proud Father

I’m going to violate a cardinal rule and blog not about the law, but about my amazing son, Ari, who is a track star at Hall High School in West Hartford, CT.  I assure you, the genes that are responsible for his athletic prowess come from his mom, not me.  Here’s the headline and first two paragraphs of a great story in the Hartford Courant:

10,000 Hits!

Dear Readers:

Just moments ago (approx. 6:45 p.m.) we topped 10,000 views (human, not web crawlers, spiders, etc.) on this blog!  I started Appealingly Brief! about a year ago and never imagined reaching this milestone.  I know that for serious bloggers, 10,000 hits is something to strive for each day, not each year.  But I’m so very pleased that even just a few new viewers each day find something of interest on the blog.  Thanks for reading!  And please don’t hesitate to send comments and suggestions about how to improve the blog, topics of interest, and anything else of a legal nature that happens to be on your mind.

Dan

Remembering A Mentor: Mark Kravitz

Even though most attorneys in the Connecticut bar were well aware that Federal District Court Judge Mark R. Kravitz had been battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for more than a year, the news of his passing yesterday at the far–too-young age of 62 still came as a terrible blow.  For me, Mark’s passing means the loss of one of the most important mentors in my professional life.  I owe my professional reputation in Connecticut as an appellate and First Amendment attorney to Mark.  I owe my position on the UCONN Law School adjunct faculty to Mark.  I owe my membership on the boards of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government and the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information to Mark.  In so many other ways, I am indebted to Mark. Read the rest of this entry »