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Deciding Cases Without Argument: An Examination of Four Courts of Appeals

Donna J. Stienstra, Joe S. Cecil
January 1, 1987

A report on the role of staff attorneys and special judicial panels in the selection of cases for nonargument disposition in the federal appellate courts. The report was based on an examination of administrative records and on interviews with clerks, senior staff attorneys, and judges. It discusses the criteria and methods used in selecting nonargument cases, and it presents the judges' views concerning the role of oral argument.