Appellate Briefing Proves I'm not a Geek

Well, not a total one, anyway. Having just finished an appellate brief to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, I am relieved to find that I do not enjoy writing appellate briefs. I take this as a positive sign that while I am a geek in some (well, many) ways, there remains some residual "coolness" in my personality that wrinkles its nose at the lengthy and technical process of appealing a criminal conviction.

The process of appellate work is itself an invitation to stick a fork in the middle of one's forehead. It begins by reading the transcript of the trial you just lost (rub salt in the wound, eh?) and making notes on everything you (and the State) did wrong. After that self-esteem boosting exercise, one turns to gleeful task of trying to find case law that is not adverse to your position, which turns out to be a considerable task given that appellate courts go out of their way to avoid overturning a conviction that would give a criminal defendant another shot at trial. After cobbling together the available caselaw, it's time to park it and write. And write. And write.

The finished product does of course, make you proud. This appeal involved a conviction of a Class C misdemeanor for which the maximum punishment is $500.00. The amount of time involved in appealing the case far exceeded the actual fine assessed, but you know, right is right. And appeals are for righting injustices, no matter how small. To our client, and hopefully the Third Court, it's no small thing at all.