You are here

The Role of Staff Attorneys and Face-to-Face Conferencing in Non-Argument Decisionmaking: A View from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Donna J. Stienstra, Joe S. Cecil
January 1, 1989

Using materials obtained through interviews with the court of appeals' judges and staff attorneys, as well as visiting judges, the authors discuss the procedure used by the court for selecting and deciding cases suitable for disposition without argument. They concluded that staff attorneys' attendance at the decision-making conference and face-to-face discussion among the judges provided substantial benefits for the judges, the staff attorneys, and the efficiency and quality of the nonargument decision-making process.