As his first contribution as a contributing editor to the Appellate Advocacy Blog, CCL's Robert S. Peck wrote about whether oral advocacy advice written 80 years ago by Justice Robert H. Jackson still holds up. The Appellate Advocacy Blog is a part of the Law Professor Blog Network.
Before he served as a justice on the Supreme Court, Jackson had been both Attorney General and Solicitor General. It was in the latter role that Justice Louis Brandeis complemented Jackson's work with a statement that Jackson should serve as Solicitor General for life. Still, Jackson displayed all the same self-doubts that other advocates do, saying he always composed three arguments, the one he planned, the one that he actually gave in the face of tough questioning, and the one he thought afterwards that he should have given.
Jackson's article, written for the ABA Journal in 1951, contained practical advice on oral argument. Some of it plainly reflects an earlier era that no longer exists, where judges were apparently less prepared than today. Other advice remains consistent with contemporary ideas about oral advocacy.
The blog posting can be found at Appellate Advocacy Blog.
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