Civil Procedure & Federal Courts Blog

Staying Execution of a Mandate

Our own 10th Court of Appeals in Waco decided an interesting procedural case yesterday.  Chief Justice Gray's introduction cleanly states the issue:

In a prior proceeding, we were asked to decide certain issues. We did. We issued an opinion. In that opinion we decided only the specific issues presented to us by the parties then before us. We issued a judgment. Review was sought but denied. We issued our mandate.

The trial court has now allowed a new party to intervene in the proceeding in the lower court. The trial court has abated the proceeding until more parties are added to the proceeding in the lower court. The trial court has stayed the execution of the judgment.

We are now asked to compel the trial court to set aside these orders and enforce our mandate.

The court correctly determines that the trial court abused its discretion and conditionally issued the writ of mandamus.  Click here to download the full opinion.  -RR

Junior Faculty Federal Courts Workshop

THE SECOND ANNUAL

JUNIOR FACULTY FEDERAL COURTS WORKSHOP

 

October 22-23, 2009

 

The Michigan State University College of Law is pleased to announce that the Second Annual Junior Faculty Federal Courts Workshop will take place on its campus October 22–23, 2009. The inaugural workshop, held in April 2008 at the American University Washington College of Law, was a resounding success attended by junior scholars from 30 law schools, resulting in publications in numerous preeminent journals. We aim to continue this tradition.  

 

The workshop pairs junior and senior, federal-courts scholars in a day-long, works-in-progress workshop. Senior scholars who have confirmed their attendance for this year’s workshop are Susan Bandes (DePaul University School of Law), Martha Field (Harvard Law School), Martin Redish (Northwestern University School of Law), and David Shapiro (Harvard Law School).

 

Workshop Agenda

 

Drafts of papers will be distributed to participants prior to the workshop, which begins with dinner on Thursday, October 22. On Friday, October 23, following breakfast, two panels of junior scholars, composed of three to four persons each, will present papers in the morning.  After lunch, two panels of junior scholars will present papers in the afternoon.  Each panel will be assigned a senior scholar who will provide commentary on the paper and lead the group discussion.  

 

Invitees

 

The workshop is open to non-tenured, or newly tenured, academics who teach Federal Courts (or an equivalent course) or whose scholarly agenda encompasses topics ordinarily associated with such a course.  Those who do not currently hold a faculty appointment but expect that they will during the 2010-2011 academic year are also welcome.  There is no registration fee for this conference.

 

RSVP

 

Those who plan to attend the workshop are asked to RSVP by July 31, 2009 to Sally Rice at Michigan State University College of Law ([email protected]). Please indicate whether you will attend the dinner on October 22.

 

Persons wishing to present a paper are asked to e-mail an abstract by June 29, 2009 to Lou Mulligan ([email protected]).  A committee of past participants will select papers no later than July 3, 2009.

 

Michigan State College of Law is pleased to provide all participants with meals while attending the workshop and has secured a block of rooms at a discounted rate.

--RR

FRCP Amendments

Prof. Ben Spencer reports here on recent Federal Rules amendments approved by the Supreme Court.   You can also click here for more information on the U.S. Courts page. --RR