Author
THE DESK OF ATTORNEY ADRAIN L. PATRICK
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”
The United States Court of Appeals for the11th Circuit has scheduled the case of Dr. Malachi York for oral arguments on the written briefs filed. The Case of USA v. Dwight York (Malachi York) Case No: 04-12354 has tentatively been scheduled for oral arguments the week of September 12, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia. Court will be held Tuesday through Friday of that week and the Court will send out a final calendar approximately 8 weeks in advance assigning a specific date that week for oral argument.
What is oral argument?
Oral argument is a method of litigation that involves the attorneys going before the court live and in-person to argue and support the contentions in their written briefs.
Why are oral arguments important?
This is important because the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, grants oral arguments in less that 20% of all cases filed before it. Thus, the granting of oral arguments is an honor and privilege highly treasured by attorneys and clients, alike. The majority of cases filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals are decided without the necessity of oral arguments. Thus,
[The following statement, in quotes, was taken from the book titled “Appeals to the Eleventh Circuit Manual by Larry M. Roth and George K. Rahdert Section 22.05 [1] pp.22-5 – 22-6]
“That a case is docketed for oral argument in the Eleventh Circuit, rather than decided solely on the briefs, highlights the fact that, for any number of reasons, a judge who screened the case has consciously decided that oral argument would be helpful. It is difficult to give general reasons why the decision has been made, because it turns on peculiar facts and circumstances of each case. Oral argument may be scheduled because the appeal presents issues of law never been decided by the Eleventh Circuit or because issues raised on the appeal whether factual, legal, or concerning application of the law to the case present close questions of judgment. Additionally, the facts of the case may be complicated or the consequences of the decision . . . are of such magnitude that thorough consideration and argumentation seems appropriate.”
Attorney Adrian L. Patrick, lead counsel for York, stated the following:
“We would like to thank the Court for allowing us the opportunity to present oral arguments. We definitely consider this as an honor and privilege. We feel that we have strong issues and we hope that the Court will agree. We are looking forward to this opportunity and hope that we will be able to assist the court in whatever manner we can.”