Apellate Brief
For my Spring Legal Writing course we had to write an appellate brief. Our assignment was based on a real Fourth Amendment case, where the appellant lost in trial court, won on appeal to the 9th Circuit, then lost again at a 9th Circuit panel review. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the Court refused to hear the case.
We had to write a brief in support of the appellant (our client) as if he had been granted certiorari. The issue of law was whether police officers could arbitrarily question a motorist detained at a traffic stop without first establishing reasonable suspicion that the motorist was presently, or about to, break the law.
Our case was a loser for two reasons. The Supreme Court has grown increasingly law-and-order oriented over the last 25 years, thus narrowing motorists Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Second, our client had a shady enough past and the circumstances of the stop were such that the Court would likely find that the arresting officers had acted with reasonable discretion.
Nonetheless, it was a blast to write this brief. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that much fun, but it was a great exercise, not unlike a workout at the gym that leaves you breathless and in pain but ultimately helps you get in better shape.
In re-reading my brief for the first time in two months, I cringed a few times. It is far from perfect. So take my analysis with as many grains or boxes of salt as you’d like.
And if Mr. Lionel Mendez ever reads this…sorry, man…we tried our best…