Texas Appellate Law Podcast

As courts tentatively start to reopen in person, the extent to which remote proceedings will remain is uncertain. But when COVID-19 shuttered courthouses everywhere, Travis County, Texas took the lead in providing courthouse access virtually. This episode features Judge Karin Crump, of Travis County's 250th District Court, and covers her leadership and experience paving the way for remote proceedings and some of the first virtual jury trials in the nation. Judge Crump discusses how the Travis County team worked to ensure fairness and representative juries, and how they have mastered technological challenges to make virtual jury trials a success. She also discusses some of the benefits virtual proceedings allow and best practices for presenting witnesses and evidence in a virtual courtroom.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

The mixing of politics and judicial selection has been a part of Texas history from the beginning. Political parties continue to influence judicial appointments and elections, and money is always a significant factor. In recent years, though, many have sought to reform the system. In this week's episode, former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss the various reform efforts, including the work of the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection. Chief Justice Phillips explains the history of how Texas picks its judges, the potential reforms, and the downsides to different systems. He also shares his encyclopedic knowledge of political and judicial history to put the debate in context.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

The law in general and appellate practice, in particular, suffer from a lack of diversity. The traditional barriers to both law and appellate practice have left many students of color and first-generation law students lacking opportunities and access to the profession. Luckily, organizations like The Appellate Project recognize this problem and seek to change it. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with  Juvaria Khan to discuss her creation of The Appellate Project, which seeks to provide more students and lawyers access to appellate practice. Juvaria shares her personal experiences as a Muslim woman and daughter of immigrants and explains how they helped her decide to change the system. She provides practical tips that allow every level of the system to increase accessibility and mentoring. She also highlights the things missing from a non-diverse practice—from differing perspectives to more fair and just decisions. Join Juvaria, Todd, and Jody in this important conversation where they dive deep into the mission of The Appellate Project and more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

In recent years, the amount of time lawyers spend in court and talking to judges has shrunk. As a result, an attorney’s credibility with judges has become increasingly important. Likewise, presenting clear, concise briefing and arguments helpful to judges and their staff has become critical. Rachel Stinson of Wright Close & Barger in Houston has a unique perspective on both issues, having spent time both in private practice and as a staff attorney at a state court of appeals and a federal district court. Rachel shares with Jody Sanders and Todd Smith how her extensive experience taught her to hone her credibility in terms of writing and how to make arguments in a way that help the decision makers do their jobs. They also discuss how changes in technology—particularly the impact of digital records—has streamlined appellate and trial practice.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Texas's Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney (SPA) may be one of the most important state agencies you didn't know. The SPA is an independent agency that represents the State of Texas before the state's highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals. While the Texas Solicitor General appears in both state and federal courts, the SPA focuses on monitoring cases of interest throughout the courts of appeals and handling petitions and writs to the CCA. John Messinger, one of the SPA's attorneys, joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders to discuss what his office does and the outsized impact that it has on the Texas criminal justice system. John talks about how his office selects cases, tips for drafting petitions, and issues that affect both sides of the CCA's docket. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Trial lawyers and appellate lawyers have different skill sets that compliment each other's practices. But some trial lawyers feel equally at home in both the trial and appellate courts. In this episode, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders talk to their first trial attorney guest, Carlos Soltero, about his experiences in both courts. Carlos offers his perspective as a trial lawyer on appellate practice, revealing how he handles his own appeals, where most of his work comes from, and how he is doing in the current pandemic. He talks the different roles he plays and shares some advice on dealing with jury charges, collaborative work, attorney fees, and more. Carlos also offers a peek at his book, Latinos and American Law, where he sheds light on the different ways the legal system has affected the Hispanic, Latino, and Mexican-American communities and individuals. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:TexAppLawPod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

Season 1 of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast wrapped up with our 50th episode, featuring M.C. Sungaila. We've continued to interview outstanding guests while on hiatus, and we're happy to share that we'll be resuming regular weekly episodes again soon. We're looking forward to trying new things and (hopefully) recording some episodes live and in-person during our second season! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

It's difficult for new lawyers to transition into legal practice, but appellate practice is especially tough. This sometimes deters firms from investing the time and resources necessary to train new appellate attorneys, particularly when they are between law school and future clerkships. But, M.C. Sungaila, head of the appellate practice group at Buchalter, has developed a pilot fellowship program that seeks to address these issues. M.C. joins Todd Smith and Jody Sanders in this week's episode to talk about how her fellowship program helps develop new attorneys for a future in appellate law. M.C. also provides her insights as a Chambers-ranked California appellate attorney about California's appellate system and how it contrasts with other states.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

While they share the Red River as a border, Texas and Oklahoma have lots of differences in their court systems—different court structures, different judicial selection processes, and different federal circuits. But they share one important similarity—they each have a podcast devoted to appellate practice. In a crossover episode between the Texas Appellate Law Podcast and the Oklahoma Appeals podcast, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders sit down with lawyers Gabe Bass and Jana Knott to discuss practicing in their respective states. They go deep into how their courts handle cases, decide between published and unpublished opinions, how judges are selected, the common sources of their appellate work, and electronic versus paper filing. Join them for an in-depth discussion of practice on both sides of the border.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:appealsplus.comTwitterFacebookLinkedInYouTube

For over a decade, the Texas Supreme Court has tightened the proof necessary to recover attorney fees in Texas. That, coupled with Legislative expansion of fee shifting, makes understanding the standard even more important. This is particularly true about appellate fees, which, unlike federal court, must be estimated and proven before the appeal. This week, Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss the evolution of attorney-fee proof in Texas and ways attorneys can make the best record for both trial and appellate fees.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Texas Appellate Law Podcast Community today:texapplawpod.comTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube