New and events of the Philadelphia Bar Asso.
Issue link: https://thephiladelphialawyer.epubxp.com/i/574228
In terms of cases you hear, how does oral advocacy – the oral argument – impact decisions? We permit cases that request oral arguments to receive it. Oral advocacy is a part of the decision, but the most important part is the brief and how the issues are framed and preserved. We're an error-correcting court, so you have to show us how the trial judge or the jury made an error in law. In terms of that, are there cases where the oral argument really makes a difference or points out something you haven't seen? Or, for lack of better way to phrase it – the ah-ha moment? It's rare that that occurs. It does occur in the en banc cases which are much more limited, and we hear approximately 50 of those each year. But in the vast majority of the appellate cases, the briefs set forth the errors. How would you describe your caseload and how do you manage it? Well, the number of cases in the past five years has ranged from 7,600 to 8,400. We are 15 commissioned judges, and the Supreme Court appoints senior judges to assist us with our docket. The volume is monumental, as you can imagine. Our court averages 470 decisions each month, both precedential and non-precedential. It takes us an average of 272 days to write each case. That's from the date it's filed until the date that you receive the opinion. We have an incredibly talented, hardworking group of judges, who are all proud of the work they do, and they all manage their own dockets. So, happily, that is not something I need to administer as President Judge. the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2015 19