From Judge Wilson’s concurrence:
These applications are often decided without counseled argument from the petitioner, and are always decided without an opposing brief from the government, except for death-penalty-related applications. We also rarely have access to the whole record. See generally Jordan, 485 F.3d at 1357–58 (describing the limitations we face when deciding these applications). When making these determinations, therefore, the panel typically races to issue an unappealable order based solely on the arguments of a pro se prisoner constrained to a little over one page per ground.
Conversely, when we decide a merits appeal, we have essentially unlimited time to decide the case, there are usually attorneys on both sides, we have extensive briefing, and we have the entire record in front of us (including an order from the court below). And the large majority of our published merits opinions come from our oral argument calendar, where attorneys for each party argue for at least fifteen minutes. Of course, after a merits opinion issues, aggrieved parties may petition for panel rehearing, for rehearing en banc, or for a writ of certiorari.
Despite this stark contrast in process, published panel orders and published opinions now enjoy the same precedential heft, equally binding future panels of this court unless and until overruled by the court sitting en banc. In fact, published panel orders perhaps have greater weight, because they may not be appealed to the Supreme Court and they may not be the subject of a petition for rehearing en banc. We should not elevate these hurriedly-written and uncontested orders in this manner.
3 comments:
Shocker. Conservative play dirty.
Maybe the liberals are just incompetent?
Its just the way liberals and conservatives see the world. Liberals see the world through the lens of optimism that suggests "if we all do the right thing, then the right outcome will be generated." Conservatives see the world through a pessimistic lens that suggests "someone will fuck it up, so let me get mine now so I'm not the guy left standing when the music stops."
Of course, the conservative view point is self-fulfilling. They think others won't play fair, so they don't play fair, thus guaranteeing that the outcome won't be fair.
Liberals are repeatedly shocked, always believing that this time will be different.
Post a Comment