#appellatesky
January 6, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Football announcers can say in 20 words what should only take 4-5.
January 2, 2026 at 4:35 AM
When you do well at an oral argument in a state intermediate appellate court. #AppellateSky
I’d won the argument, yay me, so I left.
January 1, 2026 at 2:50 PM
TFW you've drafted a 3-page string cite introduced by "see, also, for good measure..." and then the court publishes an opinion saying the same thing
#appellatesky
January 4, 2026 at 4:54 AM
Pulled up one of my old briefs to get some case law from it.

And I found a typo.

The opportunities for embarrassment in this profession never end.

#appellatesky
December 17, 2025 at 1:35 PM
This 11th Cir. decision—that a written, pretrial notice of intent not to pursue a theory was insufficient to resolve a "claim"—has me wondering: how often are courts addressing discrete claims rather than discrete theories of relief?

#AppellateSky

finaldecisions.org/no-finality-...
No Finality by Abandoning Claims Before Trial - Final Decisions PLLC
The Eleventh Circuit held that a defendant could not abandon a counterclaim before trial, and the attempt to do so precluded finality.
finaldecisions.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Spin Capital v Jet Oilfield: #5thCir affirms dismissal of claim for contribution in #bankruptcy: person who signed agreement didn't have authority to #contract on behalf of LLC #appellatesky #lawsky baffc.net/445CmJu
December 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Palms v TX Children's: #5thCir dismisses appeal, vacates pinion affirming summary jm for employer who denied but then granted employee #religious #accommodation exemption from #flu #vaccinemandate days after she filed suit #appellatesky #lawsky baffc.net/449bjgh
December 5, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Well of course. There’s no right to an interlocudoodle appeal.
#appellatesky
Delaware Chancery Court Denies Mid-Case Appeal for Goldendoodle
A precedent-setting custody case over a goldendoodle in Delaware’s premier business court doesn’t merit mid-case review from a higher authority, a judge said Monday.
news.bloomberglaw.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Me: ok I caught up on everything let me take a break to check BlueSky

Me 5 minutes later: oh fuck we’ve got a bunch more judicial filings that dropped. Gotta read this 200+ page order.

Me, 5 minutes after that: why am I reading this in my work break on my phone?!!!

I blame AppellateSky 😭😘
November 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM
An #AppellateSky aside,
50 Ways to Lose your Writ:

Chorus:

Remedy at law, Shaw
Why were you late, Kate
You filed way too soon, June
Just get yourself screwed
Res judicata, Ata
You don't need to rewrite it
Just get it reviewed, Dude
And get yourself screwed
Make a new plan, Stan
November 17, 2025 at 10:42 PM
This will be interesting when the U.S. Supreme Court gets it and I don’t think they will overturn that verdict.

#AppellateSky
The NY Attorney General has REJECTED Trump's bid to dismiss his $500M civil fraud judgment post-election. The AG stated that Trump's presidency doesn't shield him from civil litigation over non-official conduct, per the Constitution and multiple court precedents.
December 10, 2024 at 10:04 PM
So my takeaway from Skrmetti today is that the conservatives want to use it to kick a hole in U.S. v. Virginia (1996) that sex based classifications don’t trigger intermediate scrutiny where medical issues are involved, thanks to Rice admitting that SB1 is such a classification.

/1

#AppellateSky
December 5, 2024 at 12:11 AM
Another record review day, this time in Dayton. For non-lawyers, we do this because if someone isn’t in “the record,” the appeals court can’t consider it. You don’t want to find out at oral argument that something didn’t make it from the trial court.
#AppellateSky
January 18, 2024 at 4:47 PM
🎙️NEW EPISODE: Explore the intriguing saga of Judge Pauline Newman and delve into the system that polices federal judges with Chris Dove, @dtoddsmith.bsky.social, and @jodyssanders.bsky.social. #AppellateSky

www.texappcounsel.com/2025/02/addr...
Addressing Misconduct and Disability in the Federal Judiciary | Chris Dove
For Chris Dove, it started when he came upon articles in Above the Law about the saga of then-95-year-old federal Judge Pauline Newman. A giant in IP law,
www.texappcounsel.com
February 22, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Perhaps the weirdest, most awful part of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Manual of Style has become normal in the new edition—they no longer say we should put a space between double and single quotation marks in quotes within quotes.
#LegalWriting
#AppellateSky
www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/opinions-cas...
April 15, 2024 at 6:42 PM
During these challenging times, it's important to have a community where you can feel seen and heard.

Recently we held an event in San Francisco with our co-sponsor, the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.

#appellateSky #SkyLaw

1/3
February 21, 2025 at 3:02 AM
One of my favorite parts of my job is seeing government lawyers step out of their jump-how-high bubble and flounder in front of judges who don’t automatically do what they say.
#AppellateSky
I haven’t followed this litigation from the beginning, but I have to say “no it’s fine, we’ll send them to Rwanda” is not an argument I would have enjoyed trying to make in a court.
The British Government's plan to deport migrants to Rwanda is unlawful, the Supreme Court has ruled.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk...
November 15, 2023 at 12:23 PM
WATCH: You can listen to @ij.org clients, Trina, Toi, and Gabe, tell their own story. I discuss some of the legal aspects of this important case, which we are litigating as part of IJ's #ProjectonImmunityandAccountability, #IJPIA. #AppellateSky 4/4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGOJ...
FBI SWAT Raids the Wrong House. Terrorizes Family.
YouTube video by Institute for Justice
www.youtube.com
January 2, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I'll be curious to see if this draws the same kind of negative social attention from profs as filing an appellate brief early does among AppellateSky folks. 😂
December 13, 2023 at 6:47 PM
I just had a judge explain how impactful photos were in one of my briefs—that he saw 15 years ago.
#AppellateSky
#LegalWriting
Happy So Excited GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
Discover & share this Reaction GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.
media.giphy.com
January 10, 2024 at 5:02 PM
#appellatesky What is a rule in your jurisdiction that you learned the hard way—that is, because you or a colleague violated it out of ignorance and got called out on it?

Please include 1) the jurisdiction, and 2) the rule.
January 13, 2025 at 2:28 AM
This is an evergreen episode that will resonate with anyone with experience handling appeals in any jurisdiction. We're grateful to Kevin for coming back and sharing his insights. #appellatesky
NEW EPISODE! What does it mean to succeed as an appellate lawyer when wins and losses are often beyond your control? Kevin Dubose joins us to talk about redefining success, counseling clients, and coping with the challenges of appellate practice. #AppellateSky
E154: Confronting the Existential Crisis of Appellate Practice | Kevin Dubose
The basic concept – that appellate lawyers face an existential crisis – came to Kevin Dubose in a dream. In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Todd
www.texappcounsel.com
September 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
1) Boycotts and buycotts: Boycotts withdraw your spending to create pressure while buycotts do the opposite—intentionally spending with companies that are standing up to authoritarian policies.

Research new grocery, news, and delivery options.

#SkyLaw #AppellateSky

2/6
September 18, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Even when the other side is wrong about something in their brief, before you call them a liar, make sure you don’t sound like this.
#AppellateSky
#Legalwriting
October 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM