It’s a slow week here in the federal circuit courts, at least for people accused of a crime who won their cases – only three cases were reversed in the federal court of appeals in published opinions last week.
Happily, what last week’s opinions lost in quantity they made up in quality.
Judge Posner weighed in on restitution in child porn cases. Always a fun writer to read.
Autumn is here. With it comes a crisp feeling in the air, leaves turning, the start of the Supreme Court term on the First Monday in October (for a preview of sorts, please see my guide to bluffing your way through knowledge of the upcoming term), and a slowdown in the pace of published opinions coming from our nation’s federal appellate courts.
Why the slowdown? My suspicion is that as old law clerks leave the service of their appellate judges at the end of August to be replaced by new clerks — much as old leaves fall from trees to make way, eventually, for new buds — the work of the old clerks issues in late August and the work of the new clerks has yet to be rendered in a state fit for publication.
Though perhaps I’m mistaken.
The Federal Criminal Appeals Blog