First Circuit Law Court Oral Argument US Supreme Court
September 28, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
For Supreme Court watchers and appellate practitioners, last week brought an interesting development – the Court is changing how it conducts oral argument. Arguments will now feature both unstructured questioning by all justices and then uninterrupted questioning by individual justices. It will be fascinating to watch how this new approach affects oral arguments in the […]
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Elections Law Court Maine
August 18, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
The Law Court recently issued a decision in Caiazzo v. Secretary of State that was interesting on several levels. (Full disclosure: this blogger represented the petitioner in the appeal). One procedural aspect of the decision is particularly interesting, as it will affect the timing of future challenges to the Secretary of State’s determination regarding the […]
Law Court Maine
July 12, 2021 / July 9, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
What is the remedy in an administrative appeal when the fact-finder doesn’t do its job by making findings of fact to explain its decision? As the Law Court recently reaffirmed in Fair Elections Portland, Inc. v. City of Portland, the proper remedy is generally a remand for further proceedings. Fair Elections Portland involved a Rule […]
May 26, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
It isn’t every day that the Law Court addresses claims of civil conspiracy or aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, but that is exactly what the court did in Meridian Medical Systems, LLC v. Epix Therapeutics, Inc. – with a bit of literary allusion thrown in. In Meridian, the Court clearly stated for the […]
April 22, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
In a recent blog post, I explored the application of the final judgment rule to appeals from preliminary injunction orders in state court. As I noted, the Law Court has recently applied the “death knell” exception to that rule to hear an interlocutory appeal regarding a preliminary injunction. In two other recent cases, the Law […]
Appellate Briefs First Circuit Law Court US Supreme Court
March 22, 2021 / March 19, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
Appellate advocacy is about persuasion – and the most important avenue for persuading appellate judges is a brief that is clear, concise, and readable. So what does an appellate attorney do when confronted by the need to quote a passage that contains ellipses, citations, or alterations in brackets? One less-than-desirable option is to include all […]
March 4, 2021 / March 4, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
As recently noted on this blog, parties can appeal a preliminary injunction order in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 – but, typically, the same right of appeal is not available under Maine law. As stated in Sanborn v. Sanborn, “an order granting or denying a motion for a preliminary injunction is not a […]
COVID-19 First Circuit Law Court Maine
January 12, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
Interlocutory appeals, including those relating to injunctive relief, often present traps for the unwary. In state court in Maine, parties typically cannot appeal an order granting or denying a motion for preliminary injunction. The Law Court has so held in numerous cases, including Sanborn v. Sanborn. In federal court, by contrast, it is possible to […]
November 2, 2020 / October 29, 2020 by Heather Stevens
Late last week, the Law Court unequivocally adopted the integrated business records exception to the hearsay rule under Rule 803(6) of the Maine Rules of Evidence in The Bank of New York Mellon v. Shone. It held: “[A] record that one business has received from another is admissible under Rule 803(6) without testimony about the […]
COVID-19 Elections Law Court Maine Maine Constitution
October 27, 2020 / October 27, 2020 by Joshua Dunlap
Late last week, the Law Court issued an important election law decision in Alliance for Retired Americans v. Secretary of State. In its opinion, the Court held that Maine’s deadline for receiving absentee ballots (8:00 p.m. on election day) as well as the statutory provisions governing the validation of absentee ballots are not unconstitutional as […]
