Attendance at the Colorado Court of Appeals

Unbeknownst to my class, Civil Procedure had changed pace today.
I'm not sure whether this happens at other schools but the Colorado Court of Appeals is taking place AT MY SCHOOL today.

Division IV Vogt, Terry, Lichtenstein, JJ. Division IV

The following are running notes taken from during the trial(s). Please forgive their disjointedness.
P = Original Plaintiff
D = Original Defendant

The first case up is regarding a breach of contract. Elliot (D) v Molk (P)

The Court of Appeals is vastly different from a trial court. In trial court the parties present evidence, argue their sides, and get a ruling. The Court of Appeals is more of a back and forth between an attorney and a 3-judge panel. You are not required to introduce evidence or restate the case, merely to make arguments and answer judge's questions.

It is funny, during the prosecution's speech, to hear him cite principles we've been learning about such as equity and freedom of contract.

If you are going to make an argument in the court of appeals make sure that you have made it in the trial court level as well. Otherwise the Appeals Judge will notice and shoot you down. And really, you were humiliated enough during law school, you don't need to be humiliated in front of law school students again after law school.

In case anyone was wondering, there is nothing scarier than Appellate judges clamoring to ask you questions and then not looking at you when you make your argument so they can write things down. I really feel sorry for Ms. Daniels, the defense attorney. She has a very weak case and hasn't backed up some of her arguments.
Also apparently judges come up with hypotheticals just like law professors do. SO not only do you have to have to be able to argue your case well but you need to be able to think of other ways of thinking about your case in what would happen should the facts be changed slightly.


Diggs (P) v Regional Transportation District (D)

This course is regarding filing a claim with an insurance company.

Ha, people still use "If it please the court"

"Are you aware of any case anywhere in the country..." WORST QUESTION EVAR
The courts

It's not that you have to prove that all the evidence has been submitted, they make you say WHY something serves due process. They make yo spell out every little detail.
And if you don't, the judges look at you like "you're being a very bad lawyer here!"

I almost feel sorry for plaintiff in this case. He was getting peppered with questions from the judges and not holding up well.

It would seem that no matter how consummate a speaker you are and how many rules you cite, the judges can still knock you down. And probably hitting them back is not a good thing. These are the things I'd like to share with this defense attorney

"I stand here ready to assume anything that you ask, your honor."
Watching someone say this to a federal judge in court is possibly the funniest thing ever.

"Well...I DID spend some time looking at the record this morning, your honor."
I honestly never thought that Appeals court could be so funny. Maybe it's just the defendant.

Class Time Well Spent