Judge Susan Black of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had some advice Wednesday for the Jacksonville Women’s Lawyers Association: Win cases the first time around.
Black told the JWLA at their monthly luncheon at the River Club that they shouldn’t pin their clients’ hopes on a reversal in appellate court. Rolling the dice there is usually a losing proposition, she said. Just one out of five decisions is overturned following oral arguments in the Circuit’s appellate courts, she said.
“You want to win in trial court,” said Black. “Statistics will tell you that you don’t want to wait until the appeal to get smart.”
Black conceded that judges’ minds are often changed during oral arguments. A good argument is usually answered with the toughest questions, she said, although attorneys getting grilled by appellate judges often don’t realize that they’re winning the argument.
She said judges often ask the toughest questions when they’re trying to firm up legal concepts in their own mind.