By Zack Kaplan If you had asked them as college students, neither Tom Murry nor Chris Freeman would have told you that they planned on being lawyers one day — let alone appellate judges. The former was a pharmacy major; the latter pre-med. But if you had asked them if they planned on serving their […]
By Nathan W. Wilson Registration is now open for the North Carolina Bar Association’s 2025 Appellate Practice Section CLE – Elevate Your Appellate Practice to be held in Raleigh on May 2. This will be a terrific event, with a wide array of all-star speakers. Learn how to become a better appellate advocate in every […]
By Rebecca Watts In the 1939 film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” a young James Stewart plays Mr. Smith, a newly appointed senator who goes to D.C. with high hopes of making a difference and ends up launching a 25-hour filibuster, during which he talks about American ideals. While the Appellate Practice Section’s trip to […]
By Michelle A. Liguori At the United States Supreme Court building, there are statues of tortoises at the bottom of several lampposts. These tortoises symbolize the slow, deliberate pace of the justice typically delivered by the nation’s highest court. As the Court’s emergency applications attorney, Robert Meek, recently shared with members of the North Carolina […]
By Amie C. Sivon Congratulations are in order to Appellate Practice Section members Quintin Byrd and former Justice Samuel Ervin for becoming the most recent North Carolina Board Certified Legal Specialists in Appellate Practice! The full list of 2024 specialists for all practice areas can be found online. To become a certified appellate practice specialist, […]
By David A. Bragdon The depth and scope of Hurricane Helene’s destruction cannot be comprehended. It is worse than what you see in the media. The challenge now is survival and safety. For many, there is no power, no water, and no reliable internet. This will last for weeks, maybe months. The roads and bridges […]
By David A. Bragdon “I like a woman who’s not afraid to go after what she wants.” That is why Justice O’Connor hired Sarah Boyce to clerk for her in 2015. As a retired justice, Justice O’Connor could only hire one clerk per year. Sarah had applied for this clerkship and was preparing for an […]
By Amie Sivon Welcome to the new bar year! My name is Amie Sivon, and I practice with Ragsdale Liggett in Raleigh. I am honored to serve as the Chair of the Appellate Practice Section this year. Our section is coming off an exciting year as we marked our 10th anniversary as a section, and […]
By Troy Shelton Welcome to the new bar year for the Appellate Practice Section! While you were weathering this oppressive summer, you may have missed out on some interesting appellate news. Let’s catch up. Hail to the chief. Judge Albert Diaz was installed as the new Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit. Judge Diaz keeps […]
By Dan Gibson We have some good news if you missed the recent Appellate Insights Program with the Honorable Toby J. Heytens of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. We recorded it, and you can watch it online. You can access the recording by clicking on this link and entering the following passcode: zw7?7n3u Judge […]