The Daily Journal interviewed Manatt's Benjamin Shatz, co-chair of the firm's Appellate practice, for an article on the debate over whether state appellate justices ought to be required to enter tentative opinions prior to oral arguments.
The Daily Journal reports that appellate practitioners are pressing state appellate justices to issue tentative opinions before oral arguments, reigniting an old debate about the practice. A consortium of 16 county bar associations passed a proposal to require state courts of appeal to release their draft opinions before oral argument. In order to take effect, the judiciary's policymaking body would have to adopt it, a step even the most ardent proponents of the measure conceded is unlikely.
"This is more like a lawyer's wish list than a realistic change to the rules," said Shatz. "But it doesn't mean they won't keep pressing for it and maybe one day it could happen."