THE JOURNAL OF APPELLATE PRACTICE AND PROCESS.

A COMMON THREAD

A few days ago, I received an email from a Journal colleague reminding me that my foreword was due. I must admit that I sighed when I read the email. I knew that I needed to pen a foreword, but I was having trouble coming up with a literary "hook."

I typically start mentally working on these forewords weeks before I sit down at my computer and type something up, but the past few months have been busy for me both professionally and personally. Additionally, I was having trouble finding some sort of thread tying the different articles together. This issue reminds me a bit of a conversation with my five-year-old. We can move from discussing lava to cars to something he sees outside to his latest dream. Really, the only thread that ties our conversation together is that all the thoughts come from his active, imaginative brain.

This issue is similar. The articles address a wide range of topics, but they are all tied to appellate practice in some way.

First, Tribal Judges Carrie E. Garrow and Danielle J. Mayberry provide a look into tribal courts and the issues surrounding self-represented litigants. They outline procedures used in courts to improve procedural fairness for self-represented litigants. Their article provides appellate practitioners and judges key insight into how tribal courts operate. I was recently appointed as a pro tem judge for the Tohono O'odham Nation, and I learned much in this article.

Next, noted military law expert Eugene R. Fidell makes a compelling case for terminating the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. As Fidell explains, the court has become "a costly anachronism" (1) and it is high time "to terminate it and transfer its jurisdiction... to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia." (2) I call Fidell's case compelling because, in the interest of full disclosure, I was a bit skeptical when I first reviewed his article. However, after reading his article (a few times!), I am convinced, and I hope Congress considers his well-reasoned suggestions.

Elizabeth M. Fritz, with a nod to Harry Potter, takes a look at the courts' power to recall mandate. She outlines when the courts have exercised the recall power and examines how recall can be used in habeas and post-conviction relief cases even after the passage of AEDPA.

The next three pieces all look at persuasive writing. First, Pamela C. Corley and Adam Feldman explore the influence of party briefs at the United...