Author Archives: Myron Moskovitz
What to Do With A “Moot” Appeal
A California Court of Appeal just came down with an interesting case regarding mootness. In Coalition for a Sustainable Future in Yucaipa v. City of Yucaipa, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (4th Dist. No. E047624, 8/25/11), plaintiff sued the city, Target, and the developer to enjoin its approval of a new shopping center. Plaintiff claimed that the [...]
Writing to Win Seminar – Oakland Nov. 2
Title: Writing to Win Seminar Location: Alameda County Bar Association, Suite 200, 70 Washington Street, Oakland. Description: This seminar will focus on how to persuade judges – by thinking strategically when you write. About 100 pages of materials will be distributed. The State Bar has approved this program for three CLE credits. We’ll discuss strategic [...]
Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar – Oakland Oct. 26
Title: New Developments in Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar Location: Alameda County Bar Association, Suite 200, 70 Washington Street, Oakland. Description: Landlord-tenant law is constantly changing. This program will discuss new cases and statutes dealing with eviction procedure, wrongful eviction lawsuits, rent control, tort liability, and other issues. The State Bar has approved this program for three [...]
Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar – San Francisco Oct. 19
Title: New Developments in Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar Location: Moot Court Room, 6th Floor, Golden Gate University, 536 Mission St., San Francisco Description: Landlord-tenant law is constantly changing. This program will discuss new cases and statutes dealing with eviction procedure, wrongful eviction lawsuits, rent control, tort liability, and other issues. The State Bar has approved this [...]
Winning Appeals and Writs Seminar – San Francisco Oct. 12
Title: Winning Appeals and Writs Seminar Location: Moot Court Room, 6th Floor, Golden Gate University, 536 Mission St., San Francisco Description: How do you persuade an appellate Justice to rule for you? This seminar will address how to persuade appellate judges, by thinking strategically when you write a brief or a petition for writ. About [...]
Writing to Win Seminar – San Francisco Oct. 5
Title: Writing to Win Seminar Location: Moot Court Room, 6th Floor, Golden Gate University, 536 Mission St., San Francisco Description: This seminar will focus on how to persuade judges – by thinking strategically when you write. About 100 pages of materials will be distributed. The State Bar has approved this program for three CLE credits. [...]
“The Greatest Advocate”
Because I teach Constitutional Law, I belong to a chat room of Constitutional Law professors from law schools around the country. Recently, one of them posted a question: “Who was the greatest advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court?” The answers rolled in. Thurgood Marshall, who argued Brown v. Board of Education. John Davis, who argued [...]
What is the “overarching objective” of a brief?
I’ve been reading Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, co-authored by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Interesting stuff, and some of it quite useful – until I got to this line: “The overarching objective of a brief is to make the court’s job easier. Every other consideration is subordinate.” I could not [...]
How Europeans See American Criminal Justice
The blow-up over accusations that Dominique Strauss-Kahn raped a housekeeper in a New York hotel raised a topic of great interest to me: the differences between the European “inquisitorial” criminal justice system and the Anglo-American “adversarial” system. The French (and the Germans, the Italians, the Swedes, and just about all of Europe) use the “inquisitorial” [...]