MISSOULA – Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor advised University of Montana law students to “be succinct and powerful,” in writing court briefs.
O’Connor joined 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges Stephen Reinhart of Los Angeles and Sidney Thomas of Billings in Missoula on Thursday to hear arguments in three Montana cases.
Afterward, O’Connor spoke about her two favorite causes — advocating for appointed, not elected, judges and for the return of civics to public school curricula.
Thomas advised students to keep their briefs, well, brief. He said judges read 25 to 30 cases a week, which can make for long and sometimes dull reading.
Reinhart said attorneys should be alert to clues from judges that might indicate what part of the case they’re interested in and should be nimble enough to adjust their oral arguments accordingly.
“Know what you are talking about” in oral arguments, Reinhart said.
The judges heard arguments on whether evidence should have been suppressed in a methamphetamine case on the Fort Belknap Reservation and whether a Schwan’s Food Co. employee should have been fired for paying an outside worker cash for helping unload a truck. The third case involved a 45-year-old woman who died in the Gallatin County jail in 2005 while awaiting a court appearance.