Jan 23, 2020
by Jim Layton On average, the Court handed down its opinion 146 days after oral argument, consistent with the figures for the first and third quarters. But that average was measurably affected by two cases: City of Chesterfield v. State was handed down 468 days after oral argument, and City of Aurora v/ Spectra Communications was handed down a whopping 579 days after oral argument. In each, the Court, in opinions authored by Judge Breckenridge, significantly changed the analysis to
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Jan 21, 2020
by Jim Layton “Most prolific” during the fourth quarter were three judges who each wrote five opinions. Judge Fischer wrote five opinions for the majority. Judge Wilson wrote four for the majority and one dissent. And Chief Justice Draper wrote just two for the majority but three dissents. Judge Powell wrote three majority opinions. Judge Breckenridge wrote two for the majority. Judge Russell wrote one for the majority and one dissent. And Judge Stith wrote one for the majority. The
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Dec 10, 2019
by Kristine Nazir and Melanie Keeney On December 6, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed a successful the pilot testing phase for the online H-1B lottery registration system. The new system will be implemented in the next H-1B lottery for fiscal year 2021. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2021, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee. The registration process
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Nov 19, 2019
by Elizabeth Kelly and Merry Rhoades Last week, the Illinois General Assembly wrapped up its fall veto session. Notably, one of the items on the veto session agenda was HB 3586 ““ the new law from August 2019 impacting school districts and special education cooperatives across the state. Though no great substantive changes were made to HB 3586, below is a quick overview of what has changed under veto session legislation SB 0460. Hit the Pause Button on HB 3586
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Nov 7, 2019
By Jim Layton On average, the Court handed down its opinion 156 days after oral argument, returning to a figure close to the first quarter’s 160-day turnaround. The fastest resolutions after argument were SC97599, Macke v. Patton, and SC97591, Mo. Coalition v. Clean Water Cmsn.””both argued on May 14 and decided, unanimously, July 16 with opinions written by Judges Fischer and Powell. Macke v. Patton was also the appeal resolved most quickly since filing: just 133 days after it was
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Nov 6, 2019
Publisher Thomsen Reuters has released the 2019 Supplement to its Appellate Practice volume in the Missouri Practice Series, authored by Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton. The supplement updates rules, statutes, and caselaw pertinent to practice in all Missouri appellate courts. Jim has authored the annual supplements for more than a decade. Each year he reviews all Missouri appellate decisions, compiling changes that affect what
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Nov 5, 2019
By Jim Layton Judge Powell lost the “most prolific” title to Judge Stith: Judge Stith authored 3 majority opinions (one more than Judge Powell) and 2 dissents (tying Judge Powell). Only Judge Stith authored more than 2 majority opinions, and Judge Breckenridge and Chief Justice Draper authored just 1 each. The number of majority opinions authored so far this year are:
- Judge Powell: 11
- Judge Russell: 9
- Judge Stith: 9
- Chief Justice Draper: 8
- Judge Fischer: 7
- Judge Wilson:
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Oct 31, 2019
By Jim Layton The 3rd quarter of 2019, which includes the summer doldrums, saw the handing down of just 13 opinions (excluding attorney discipline cases). That compares with 21 opinions in each of the 1st and 2nd quarter. Of the 13 opinions, 4 were in criminal cases, 1 in a juvenile commitment, and 8 in civil cases. Four of the cases decided in the first quarter came directly to the Court on appeal””a lower number but higher percentage than earlier
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Jul 22, 2019
Types of cases decided by the Court: The majority of the cases decided by the Missouri Supreme Court in the second quarter of 2019 were civil cases: In 21 opinions, the Court decided appeals in 8 criminal and 14 civil cases. Routes to the Court:
- 5 of the cases decided in the first quarter came directly to the Court on appeal (compared to 6 in the first quarter).
- 11 came via writ petitions (compared to 10).
- 6 came on
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Jul 10, 2019
During the second quarter of 2019, April-June, the Missouri Supreme Court handed down 21 opinions, deciding 22 cases””about the same as the first quarter. This first part of my quarterly report details who wrote the Court’s opinions, and how long the Court took to issue opinions. Who:
- Judge Powell was again the most prolific writer: he authored 4 majority and 3 other opinions. At the other extreme, Judge Wilson authored just 1 opinion””for the majority.
- The judge who most
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James R. Layton
Melanie Gurley Keeney
Merry Rhoades