Justice Bedsworth Reveals a Few “From the Bench” Appellate Advocacy Secrets

… in the OC Lawyer Magazine, Criminal Waste of Space column: Carpentry Without Tools, by Justice William W. Bedsworth

Excerpt: “My father was a casketmaker. He taught me not to judge the carpenter if you don’t know his tools. It was just a homey tradesman’s adjuration not to be judgmental, and I remember as a boy being unimpressed by it as a mantra. But I sure appreciate it now. It has helped keep my blood pressure in check for many years.

I think of it often when I encounter an opinion I do not think is the author or panel’s best work. I remind myself that I don’t know how good the briefing was, I don’t know what the record was like, and—perhaps most important—I haven’t sat down and struggled with the cases cited….”(Link to full article.)