Reverse and Render : Texas Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : Cowles & Thompson Law Firm : Court of Appeals, Texas Supreme Court

When I don't want oral argument or don't think it is necessary, my standard operating procedure has been to (1) put nothing regarding oral argument on the front cover of my brief, and (2) include a Statement Regarding Oral Argument in the brief explaining why it has not been requested but adding a statement that, if the Court desires oral argument, then Appellant (or Appellee) would like the opportunity to appear and present argument.

I learned today that the clerks at the Dallas Court of Appeals would like something on the front of the brief regardless of whether you are requesting oral argument.  So, in the scenario above, I would (1) put something like this on the front cover: "Oral Argument Not Requested Unless Requested by Appellee and/or the Court," and (2) include the Statement Regarding Oral Argument in the brief as usual.

This will make the clerk's office happy because they won't have to dig through your brief to determine whether or not a motion to allow argument is necessary.  It should also alleviate the need to ever file such a motion.  A win-win for everyone! 

Happy briefing.

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Governor Perry has appointed Robert M. Fillmore to fill the seat on the Dallas Court of Appeals that was recently vacated by Justice Amos Mazzant.  Fillmore comes to the court of appeals from Hunton & Williams, LLP.  According to his recently-updated resume, his background is in regulatory law.  His appellate experience is described as "the supervision of litigation teams and appellate advocacy."   For the time being, his resume with the Hunton firm may be found at this link.  The Texas State Bar shows that he is a graduate of the University of Kansas Law School in 1977 and that his primary practice area is public utility law.  The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.

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Will the Dallas Court of Appeals grant oral argument to both sides of an appeal when only one party has requested it?  For the answer to that question, check out the Court's Internal Operating Procedures.  The answer might surprise you.  The Dallas Court of Appeals has posted its IOP's as of September 1, 2008 on its home page.  The IOP's contain helpful procedural information, such as number of copies of motions to file and a listing of fees.  But, the IOP's also contain some not-so-obvious information such as assignment of cases to panels, when voting occurs on an appeal, what happens with petitions for mandamus that are filed, and instructions to request oral argument if the opposing side has requested it and the Court has granted it.

A cover letter accompanying the IOP's promises to update the posting for the benefit of practitioners.

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