The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2023

A ppellate L aw

A Courtside Seat: 20 Tips for Your Civil Appeal By Bevan G. Stockdell

M OST OF THE JUSTICES AND JUDGES of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma and the Court of Civil Appeals have two law clerks – or staff attorneys, as the position is known in the state appellate courts.

indicate that by using “and” to separate those parties in the style and include only a trial court designation. 7 Likewise, if someone is seeking appellate relief but was not included in the caption on the order being appealed, include only an appellate designation. Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.36 accelerated procedure, where you control how the record is prepared, bind the record in such a way that the pages lay flat (spiral binding or notebook), include index tabs and number every page in the lower right corner. Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.36(d)(2) requires an “Index to Contents of Record” that uses numeric references that correspond to tabs for each of the documents or transcripts included in the record. PARTY NAMES Use a name or descriptor, such as “father” or “bank,” rather than the party designations – e.g. , plain tiff, defendant, appellant, appellee – in your briefs. Personalized descriptors help us remember BINDING THE RECORD For an appeal using the

Staff attorneys are not the superstars playing in the big game, but with courtside seats, we get an incredible view of the action. We appreciate well-executed appellate advocacy but also see some of the same fouls committed over and over again. This article offers sim ple suggestions for strengthening your appellate practice. Waiver is the easiest way to dispose of an issue on appeal. The issue must first be raised in the trial court. Aside from jurisdic tional inquiries and fundamental error, the appellate court generally “does not make first-instance deter minations of disputed issues of either law or fact in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction.” 1 Keep in mind that post-trial motions – such as a motion for new trial, motion to vacate or motion to reconsider – may affect what issues can be raised on appeal and the time to appeal. 2 Remain conscientious even after the petition in error is filed. “Issues raised in the Petition in Error but omitted from the brief may be deemed waived.” 3 PRESERVE THE ISSUES FOR APPEAL

STYLE OF THE PETITION IN ERROR

The petition in error is your first opportunity to familiarize the court with your case, and it begins with the case caption and the party designations. When there are multiple parties, third-party claims, counter-claims, cross claims, a counter-appeal and/or a cross-appeal, the case caption can get complicated. Accurate and complete information in the case caption helps the court quickly figure out who is suing who and what relief is being sought on appeal. The style and sequence of the parties on the petition in error should be the same as the style and sequence on the judgment or order being appealed. 4 When there are multiple parties, do not use “ et al. ” 5 Write out the names of every party to the proceeding below and on appeal, even if it takes multiple pages. This is true even when the judgment or order from which you are appealing uses “ et al. ” Use both the trial court and appel late court designations, such as plaintiff/appellant and defendant/ appellee. 6 If not all of the parties below are parties to the appeal,

18 | FEBRUARY 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL