Appellate Advocacy and Judicial Decision Making in the U.S. Courts of Appeals

这项关于美国上诉法院决策的研究旨在探索个人律师能够通过其上诉摘要中所展示的熟练的辩护和问题框架影响司法意见和案件结果的程度。此外，本研究将考察律师对从审判到上诉层面的问题转化的影响，以及法院对上诉中某些论点的接受程度。通过关注上诉过程中的信息输入，本研究将促进我们对法官和律师之间动态互动的理解。这项试点研究将侧重于1996年至1998年美国佐治亚州亚特兰大市第十一巡回上诉法院法官根据公开意见判决的案件。它将探讨律师如何通过他们的摘要来构建问题和论点，从而影响上诉法院意见的内容以及案件结果。特别是，它将审查诉讼当事人的律师战略性地强调或忽视问题、索赔、先例和/或事实的方式，以塑造上诉的发展。数据将直接来自初审法院的意见、律师的摘要和上诉法院的裁决。将对参与上诉的律师进行调查，以补充这些数据。此外，这些数据将有助于评估在上诉程序中产生或压制问题的程度，以及律师是否能够影响这种问题的转变。为了控制案例内容的变化，本研究将检查(2)通过抽样程序确定的决定和(2)在这段时间内在两个狭义定义的问题领域提出索赔的案例。综合起来，这些数据集将提供一个机会来检查美国上诉法院第十一巡回法院判决的250个案件的上诉过程中的信息输入。

This study of decision making in the U.S. Courts of Appeals seeks to explore the extent to which individual attorneys are able to influence judicial opinions and case outcomes through skillful advocacy and issue framing as exhibited in their appellate briefs. In addition, this study will examine attorneys' influence on the transformation of issues from the trial to the appellate levels, and on courts' receptivity to certain arguments on appeal. By focusing on the informational inputs in the appeals process, this research will advance our understanding of the dynamic interaction between bench and bar.This pilot study will focus on cases decided with published opinion by judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia from 1996-1998. It will explore the manner in which attorneys, through their briefs, are able to frame issues and arguments so as to influence the content of appellate court opinions, as well as case outcomes. Particularly, it will examine ways in which litigants' counsel strategically emphasize, or ignore issues, claims, precedent, and/or facts in order to shape the development of the appeal. The data will be derived directly from the trial court opinion, the attorneys' briefs, and the appellate court decision. These data will be augmented by a survey of the attorneys involved in the appeals. In addition, the data will permit an evaluation of the extent to which issue creation or suppression takes place in the appellate process, and if attorneys are able to influence such issue transformation. To control for variation in case content, this study will examine (2) decisions identified through a sampling procedure and (2) the universe of cases that raise claims in two narrowly defined issue areas over the time period. Combined, these data sets will provide an opportunity to examine informational inputs in the appeal process for 250 cases decided by the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.