Appellate Practice
Sep. 7, 2016
Your reply brief should reply, not repeat
Your reply brief might turn out to be the most important vehicle for influencing an appellate court. A few judges think the reply brief is so important that they read it first.
Myron Moskovitz
Legal Director
Moskovitz Appellate Team
90 Crocker Ave
Piedmont , CA 94611-3823
Phone: (510) 384-0354
Email: myronmoskovitz@gmail.com
UC Berkeley SOL Boalt Hal
Myron Moskovitz is author of Strategies On Appeal (CEB, 2021; digital: ceb.com; print: https://store.ceb.com/strategies-on-appeal-2) and Winning An Appeal (5th ed., Carolina Academic Press). He is Director of Moskovitz Appellate Team, a group of former appellate judges and appellate research attorneys who handle and consult on appeals and writs. See MoskovitzAppellateTeam.com. The Daily Journal designated Moskovitz Appellate Team as one of California's top boutique law firms. Myron can be contacted at myronmoskovitz@gmail.com or (510) 384-0354. Prior "Moskovitz On Appeal" columns can be found at http://moskovitzappellateteam.com/blog.
MOSKOVITZ ON APPEALS
Your reply brief might turn out to be the most important vehicle for influencing an appellate court. You've just seen your opponent's best shot at the arguments you made in your opening brief. Now you can give your best answers to those. Since no "sur-reply" (a reply to the reply) brief is allowed, he can't respond to your answers - except at oral argument, when it's probably too...
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