Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: June 2024

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for choosing to stay current in your appellate practice by purchasing this updated edition. Inside, you will find new material on topics such as the following:

  • Appeals to the full court. In chapter 1, find several recent cases, including appeals to the full court from single justice denials of petitions pursuant to G.L. c. 211, § 3, where the court has adopted SJC Rule 2:21, a special rule for processing these appeals.

  • Applications for further appellate review. See chapter 3, which cites a 2023 case discussing whether the failure to instruct the jury on the Commonwealth's burden to prove that the defendant knew that one of the coventurers was armed and masked created a substantial miscarriage of justice.

  • Appeal of conviction. See chapter 7 for a discussion of the process by which the defendant may tender a guilty plea or an admission to sufficient facts and reserve the right to appeal any ruling or rulings that, if reversed, would render the Commonwealth’s case not viable on one or more charges.

  • Rejection of e-filed brief of appendix. In chapter 13, find an updated Notice of Docket Entry, where the clerk of courts will advise as to a nonconforming brief.

  • Unpreserved errors in noncapital cases. Chapter 15 adds information on the Freeman standard. It lists the four questions the appellate court will ask when considering and reviewing the case as a whole.

  We at MCLE trust that you will find this new content useful in your appellate practice and valuable in keeping your law library current.

  Cordially,

  Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., MCLE Director of Publications

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Supreme Judicial Court

Buy Chapter

A. W. Phinney, III, Esq., Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Neal G. Quenzer, Esq., Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Chapter 02 expand

Massachusetts Appeals Court

Buy Chapter

Barbara Margaret Farrell, Esq., Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 03 expand

Allocating the Appellate Caseload

Buy Chapter

Judith E. Michelman, Esq., Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Neal G. Quenzer, Esq., Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Chapter 04 expand

Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Buy Chapter

Judith H. Mizner, Esq., Federal Public Defender Office

Chapter 05 expand

Appellate Divisions of the Massachusetts District Court

Buy Chapter

Hon. Mark S. Coven, Quincy District Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Checklist 5.1

- Checklist for Appealing a District Court Decision to the District Court Appellate Division Buy Form

Chapter 06 expand

Preserving Appellate Rights in the Massachusetts Superior Court

Buy Chapter

Rebecca Kiley, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services
Scott H. Kremer, Esq., Kazarian Law

Checklist 6.1

- Pretrial Preservation of the Right to Appeal in Civil Cases Buy Form

Chapter 07 expand

Preserving Appellate Rights in the Massachusetts District Court

Buy Chapter

Hon. Zachary Hillman, Administrative Office of the District Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 08 expand

Analyzing the Decision to Appeal

Buy Chapter

Tad Heuer, Esq., Foley Hoag LLP

Chapter 09 expand

Alternative Dispute Resolution in the First Circuit

Buy Chapter

Hon. Patrick J. King,

Checklist 9.1

- Checklist for the Settlement Conference Buy Form

Exhibit 9A

- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Civil Appeals Management Program Buy Form

Exhibit 9B

- Notice of Mandatory Pre-argument Settlement Conference Buy Form

Chapter 10 expand

Standards of Review

Buy Chapter

Alex G. Philipson, Esq., Superior Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 11 expand

Mechanics of Appeal in the State Courts

Buy Chapter

Barbara Margaret Farrell, Esq., Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Hon. Francis V. Kenneally, District Court Department, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Hon. Peter Sacks, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 12 expand

Practice Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Buy Chapter

Judith H. Mizner, Esq., Federal Public Defender Office

Chapter 13 expand

The Appendix and Brief: A Judicial Perspective

Buy Chapter

Hon. Gregory I. Massing, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Exhibit 13A

- Appeals Court Checklist for Preparation of Brief and Record Appendix Buy Form

Exhibit 13B

- Appeals Court Letter Regarding Rejection of E-Filed Brief or Appendix Buy Form

Chapter 14 expand

The Appellate Brief: A Practitioner’s Perspective

Buy Chapter

Dana A. Curhan, Esq., Curhan Law Office

Chapter 15 expand

Special Considerations in Criminal Briefs

Buy Chapter

Patricia A. DeJuneas, Esq., Sibbison, DeJuneau & Allen LLP
Patrick Levin, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services

Chapter 16 expand

The Attorney General’s Participation in Appeals

Buy Chapter

David C. Kravitz, Esq., Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Exhibit 16A

- Representative Cases in Which the Attorney General Has Filed Briefs as Amicus or Intervenor Buy Form

Chapter 17 expand

Role of the Amicus

Buy Chapter

Joanne D'Alcomo, Esq., Jack Mikels & Associates, LLP

Exhibit 17A

- Sample Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in First Circuit Buy Form

Exhibit 17B

- Sample Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief Buy Form

Exhibit 17C

- Sample Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in Lower Court (United States District of Massachusetts) Buy Form

Chapter 18 expand

Oral Argument

Buy Chapter

Hon. Ariane D. Vuono, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 19 expand

Appellate Disposition

Buy Chapter

Catherine S. Lombardo, Esq., Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, PC

Chapter 20 expand

Postdecision Practice

Buy Chapter

Hon. Joseph M. Ditkoff, Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 21 expand

Single Justice Practice in the Supreme Judicial Court

Buy Chapter

Maura S. Doyle, Esq., Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 22 expand

Single Justice Practice in the Massachusetts Appeals Court

Buy Chapter

Patricia Campbell Malone, Esq., Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Joseph F. Stanton, Esq., Appeals Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Chapter 23 expand

Single Justice Practice in the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Buy Chapter

Judith H. Mizner, Esq., Federal Public Defender Office

Appendix

Selected Massachusetts Cases on Standards of Review

Buy Chapter

Henry G. Weaver, Jr., Esq.,

Editor(s)

Author(s)