Category: Ethics, Appellate Law (See Credit for CLE & Specialization Approval) Category: Ethics, Appellate Law (See Credit for CLE & Specialization Approval) (show less)

This panel takes on some interesting ethical issues: 1. Should the Judicial Conference take steps to combat judge-shopping by instituting new rules or is the assignment of cases?  Or is this the exclusive province of Congress?  2. Certification of Questions:  a. When should a federal circuit court of appeals certify a question to the U.S. Supreme Court?  b. When should a federal circuit court of appeals certify a question to a state supreme court? c. Should state supreme courts allow certification from federal district courts? 3. Limits of Advocacy at Trial:  How far is too far?   a. Appeal to local bias b. Accusations of perjury c. Personal attacks against the integrity of opposing counsel  d. Conscience of the community arguments 14. AI:  Can you use it to write your brief?  a. Rules of Professional Conduct b. Proposed rule changes – Certificate of Compliance 5. Appeal Bonds:  Suddenly they’re interesting? a. What to do when the defendant says it is impossible to post bond? b. What about the catch-22 insurers find themselves in when the judgment is over their policy limit?  The Louisiana Supreme Court is set to address this issue in Martinez v. American Transp. Group Risk Retention Group, Inc. 2023-CC-01716 (La. 3/12/2024). 6. Amicus Briefs:  What is allowed? a. Is an amicus allowed to introduce facts outside the record? b. When is an amicus brief helpful?  When is it not?   7. Code of Ethics:  Should the U.S. Supreme Court have one?   Disclaimer: The LSBA’s inclusion of a program in its CLE programming is not to be deemed a statement or an endorsement of the views expressed therein by the LSBA or any member of the LSBA. Speakers on LSBA
programs were carefully selected for their knowledge, but neither the LSBA nor the speaker warrant that the presentations or materials were free of errors or will continue to be accurate. Statements in the presentations and their materials should be verified before relying on them. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect opinions of the LSBA, its sections, or committees. Views expressed are those of the authors and contributors only.