Appellate advocacy in the covid era is more daunting than many other legal activities and Judge Michele Hotten of Maryland's highest court discusses this on the latest episode of Everyday Law with host, Bob Clark.
Judge Hotten was a returning guest and has served throughout the Maryland judiciary. She is truly a judge of the people, down to earth and humble while obviously quite brilliant.
In her interview she talks about her difficult adaptation to remote appellate arguments and the loss of in person collegial interaction with her judicial colleagues. She notes that lawyers need to be even more aware of how they present themselves in their arguments. Focus on central points that are the core of your case rather than making as many arguments as possible.
Recognize that some arguments are not preserved for appeal and others are but tenuously so. If trial counsel came close to making an argument and the trial judge should have recognized it, it may be preserved.
Finally, the talk turned to specific cases including Judge Hotten's dissent in the Adnan Syed case, which has been the subject of both the legendary podcast, Serial, and HBO's The Case Against Adnan Syed. Judge Hotten intentionally ignored these shows and the media hubbub in arriving at her view that Mr. Syed was entitled to a new trial.
Unfortunately the majority of Maryland's highest court disagreed as did the United States Supreme Court.
This episode of Everyday Law is chock full of all manner of other interesting insights from Judge Hotten. Go to; https://everydaylaw.podbean.com/e/judge-hotten/
