Vol. 76, No. 2, February
2003
A Personal Look Back at the Court of Appeals
In 1978 it was anticipated that each judge would hear 100 cases per
year. That figure has now doubled. Appellate judges have less time
available to consider each case and must rely on the lawyers - and the
organization and quality of their presentations - more than ever
before.
by Judge William Eich
When the Wisconsin Court of Appeals was created in 1978, it was
anticipated that its 12 judges would hear 900 to 1,200 cases per year.
The figure was based on studies indicating that 100 cases per judge per
year is just about the maximum that any appellate court can effectively
handle. Seven years later, in 1985, when I joined the court (after 11
years as a circuit court judge in Madison), it was handling slightly
more than 2,000 cases. In 2002, that figure topped 3,300, and even
though the size of the court has increased from 12 to 16 judges, case
filings have far outpaced the increase in the number of judges available
to hear them. The case-per-judge figure is now more than 200. And the
court's staff resources have been similarly limited.
What this means, of course, is that the judges have less time
available for consideration of each case and must rely on the lawyers -
and the organization and quality of their presentations - more than ever
before. And the appellate bar has been generally very responsive to
these needs. As the adjacent article suggests, there is room for
improvement in appellate lawyering, just as there is in appellate
judging; but, for the most part, both elements of the equation have
risen to the task.
William Eich, U.W. 1963, an appellate and trial
court judge for more than 26 years, was chief judge of the Wisconsin
Court of Appeals from 1989 to 1998. Retiring from the court in 2000, he
maintains an active arbitration/mediation practice in Madison and
consults regularly with Wisconsin and out-of-state attorneys and firms
on brief writing, oral argument, and other aspects of appellate
practice. Much of the material in this article has been condensed from
speeches and lectures given at the State Bar of Wisconsin and judicial
conferences in Wisconsin and other states and in appellate advocacy
courses at the U.W. and Marquette Law Schools. Judge Eich is a member of
the State Bar's Appellate Practice and Alternative Dispute Resolution
sections, and its Media-Law Relations Committee.
Lawyers practicing before the court have honed their interest in
appellate advocacy by conducting seminars around the state, inviting the
judges to meet with them to discuss elements of appellate practice, and,
of course, establishing the State Bar's Appellate Section, where they
continue to work to promote and advance their craft - and with it, the
appellate justice system itself.
The court remains responsive to these efforts. Most importantly, I
think, it remains close to the people it was created to serve. In the
three multi-county districts (II, III, and IV), the panels hear cases in
several counties, sometimes in unusual locations. In my district,
District IV, for example, we have heard oral arguments at the University
of Wisconsin, and we traveled to Beloit College each fall for the same
purpose. We sent out copies of the briefs ahead of time to facilitate
pre-argument student-faculty seminars (at Beloit, the seminars were
conducted by the college president himself, a former practicing lawyer),
and concluded each day with a question-and-answer coffee with the
students. The judges loved it, as did the lawyers involved in the cases.
They were wonderfully cooperative and supportive, traveling to Beloit at
their own expense and staying on after court to meet and talk with the
students.
Beyond that, court of appeals judges regularly meet with trial
judges, lawyers, and bar associations in their districts and are active
in moot court and a variety of public-education efforts to promote
greater understanding of the court's role in today's society. Many
participate in the Inns of Court program and are regular speakers on
legal and judicial issues before school organizations and local service
clubs. I have particularly enjoyed serving for the past several years as
an adviser to the "We the People" program sponsored by Wisconsin Public
Television and the Wisconsin State Journal, in which citizens
from all over the state are brought to Madison to learn about and
discuss issues in supreme court elections, concluding the day with seven
citizens sitting on the bench in the supreme court hearing room and
questioning the candidates on statewide television.
For these, and a host of other reasons, I believe the court of
appeals has lived up to one of the primary reasons for which it was
established: to bring the basic level of appellate adjudication closer
to the people - not only to the litigants and lawyers, but to citizens
throughout Wisconsin. And it has done so while maintaining a responsible
and thoughtful approach to its decisional responsibilities. Although I
am no longer a part of the court, I remain, as I believe we all should
be, very proud of its accomplishments on this, the eve of the 25th
anniversary of its creation.
Editor's Note: In 2003, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
celebrates its 25th anniversary. Watch for upcoming articles on this and
other significant legal anniversaries as the Wisconsin Lawyer
undertakes a year-long effort to commemorate Wisconsin's legal history.
Participate in the celebration by sharing your thoughts about the impact
of the court of appeals on Wisconsin's justice system. Please email your
contributions to the editors at wislawyer@wisbar.org.
Wisconsin
Lawyer
