Probably 5-8 years ago, one our firm’s former law clerks called me with this story about my father today.
Dad told the clerk he wanted a Mississippi case on a very specific point. The clerk went looking, and, to his surprise, turns up a case on that exact issue. He pulls the book (because he knew that dad wouldn’t really believe it printed off a computer) and proudly takes the case into dad’s office, waits will it is read, and gets the response: “God damn it, boy, I asked you for some law and you bring me the Court of Appeals.”
Great story! That is close to how some of the justices think about it, or at least used to. And the COA hasn’t exactly improved in the past 10 years.
I filed something today that cites a few COA cases – because they were on point, and because it’s an issue that tends to get bounced to the COA – but I still wasn’t crazy about it.
I never understood why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to publish opinions from the COA on anything. COA opinions should not be used for precedent or in briefs and arguments. Let decisions from the Supreme Court be the black letter law. From time to time the Supreme Court could take up cases dealing with divorce or worker’s comp., etc., and settle or redefine points of law, but be the definitive voice. The Supremes can be political and goofy as hell, but there’s waaaaay too much politics in COA decisions.
I wish it were that simple for those of us down here in the trenches who have to dodge small-arms fire from the court of appeals while watching out for the 12-inch shells being lobbed by the supreme artillery.
Of course, sometimes those 12″ shells do land on the position from which you were incurring the small-arms fire.
If the last two comment above were written by high school students about their course work, the students would be suspended. Remember, tell your little boys to be careful how they gnaw at their Pop Tarts.