Random Pensées

In other words, we may be cast into a burning inferno, pending appeal??? :-)

I should have been more specific: that is why we can petition the appellate division for a stay of enforcement of judgment pending disposition of appeal.

Someone here said this before, but I'm going to reiterate: Remind me never to argue with you.

Please do argue with me. Otherwise I would be terribly bored.

Okay, if you insist! ;-)

Oh...thanks for the clarification...I think!

I'll argue: what is it with lawyers? You can never leave well enough alone. Lose a case? You can always cry to an appeals court, and then another court, and then another court. Why bother? If the first one is so wrong then why have it at all? Also I'm not really too au fait with many religions but as I understand monotheism there really isn't much of a Supreme Court sitting above God. Maybe it's not such a bad idea, but I just don't remember it being in the Bible or the Koran.

I've really got to cut down on the caffine. And pray to God the Bhuddists aren't right...otherwise I might come back as a lawyer myself!

Yes, well, every client feels that way generally until they feel agreived by a decision in the lower court. They have appeals courts for lots of reasons, including but not limited to, because appeals courts are removed from the immediate passions of the trial level; are more immune from political pressures; because trial court judges have a huge case load and sometimes get it wrong, they are only human and their errors are never divine and we usually need the appellate panel to forgive them. In fact, as for getting it wrong, the Civil Law systems usually have trials conducted by three judge trial panels, and you know what, they still need appellate panels to sort it out. If there is no appeal above God, perhaps there ought to be.

By the way, I usually find that juries get it right almost all the time.

It should also be pointed out, Simon, that while filing an appeal is a matter of right within certain time limits, actually proceeding to appellate review is not automatic. Certain findings by trial level courts are unappealable, and the "standard of review" for the findings of lower courts makes reversal purposefully, and rightly, more difficult.

People complain about frivilous lawsuits all the time, but there is an important distinction between filing a silly lawsuit and actually surviving summary judgment (or the other various pretrial manouvers) to see the inside of a courtroom.

The appeal process only applies to Jews. After all, we have a long history of arguing the Talmud with G-d and each other, something that seems to be an alien concept in other religions, especially Christianity.