| Rent Wars (Rentwars) | Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 06:09 pm
The Second Circuit has jurisdiction over federal appellate matters for the territory of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.
Clerk's Office
The Second Circuit receives pro se papers exactly the same as they receive attorney papers. The office is clean, neat and clerks are professional. Pro se papers are handled internally by special pro se case managers and pro se attorneys. These can only be reached by phone. Pro se attorneys summarize, clean up, and cite check pro se briefs for the court. They also answer pro se questions about appellate procedure. Pro se parties are relieved from certain mediation requirements such as C.A.M.P. Oral argument in shortened duration is available to pro se parties as of right, attorneys opposing pro se parties must work within the shortened time limits as well. The Second Circuit makes note that certain pro se parties are advanced and treats these pro se plaintiffs as attorneys for the purposes of appeal.
Rating: 10
Court
The Second Circuit is the flagship of the federal circuits and has a long tradition of excellence. The court sits in panels of three circuit judges (or occasionally a District Judge or a judge visiting from another circuit). They are known for strict oral argument timing, but this varies depending on the Presiding Judge. Pro Se parties are given leeway in oral argument, and if they are making sense or answering questions from the panel extra time is usually afforded. This court generally avoids Shadowlaw. The court can be particularly brutal to attorneys who are unprepared or deceitful. However, the S.A.D. appears to protect attorneys who are caught lying against a pro se party. This court provides legal rulings that protect the rights of pro se parties to litigate in the Second Circuit and its lower courts. When these rulings are ignored by a District Judge to the detriment of a pro se party, the Circuit has been known to subject that judge to a tongue-lashing on the front page of the New York Law Journal. They don't pull punches and their message to the lower courts is clear: Two-thirds of the litigants in the federal courts are pro se, and that two-thirds is entitled to a full and fair hearing.
Rating: 10
Rent Wars does not monitor federal judges due to the complexity and variety of legal issues that these judges handle. We do occasionally observe the federal courts in operation and in extreme cases criticize particular rulings or actions.
Total rating: 10 |