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Remote Video Argument: Suggestions for Arguing Counsel

Co-authored by Robin Meadow, a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers’ Task Force on Remote Oral Argument

The opportunity to be heard is a bedrock principle of due process, and oral argument of appeals is one of the most important ways that we honor and achieve— and publicly demonstrate that we achieve—that fundamental goal. But disruption has been the word of this century, and it eventually shakes even well-established foundations. The judicial system’s low tolerance for change once modulated disruption. No more. Coping with a dangerous disease spread by human breath disrupts every in-person communication traditional in appellate decision-making. COVID-19 forced oral arguments to go virtual in a matter of days.

We publish this paper to share what our members have learned after half a year of presenting and observing remote video arguments in state and federal courts from coast to coast. We recognize that events will overtake some of our suggestions. But it is time to consolidate early experiences coping with and exploiting the disruption to oral advocacy caused by COVID-19.

To read the full article, click here.