July
Featured Story
Vox Populi: Is It Time to Reform the Electoral College?
Popular dissatisfaction with the present electoral college method of electing our presidents has increased since 2000, when the possibility of the winner of the presidency having lost the popular vote gave impetus to suggestions of reform. The National Popular Vote Plan, under which states would amend their laws to require that their electoral votes be cast in favor of the winner of the national popular vote, has attracted support. That plan raises serious constitutional issues: whether such state enactments are subject to gubernatorial veto, and whether, as interstate compacts, the consent of Congress would be required.
Features
The Growing Circuit Split over Whether Premature Notices of Appeal Preserve Appellate Review
Filing a notice of appeal early—an act often done out of an abundance of caution—can, in fact, be fatal because, in certain cases, a premature notice of appeal will not ripen into a valid notice of appeal upon entry of the final, appealable order or judgment. Accordingly, it is important for the federal appellant practitioner to be wary of the often stated aphorism that the "early bird catches the worm."