It's a brave new appellate world.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 April 2007
• Author: Cain, May L.

Judge Learned Hand once said, "The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right." That insatiable spirit has never been more prevalent than it is today.

Over the last decade, appellate filings in the state of Florida have risen an average of more than 28 percent among all of the district courts of appeal and the Supreme Court of Florida, and we have become the fourth most litigious state in the union. Fortunately, we are part of a profession that is willing to stand up for what is right and ensure that the rule of law is followed. For as Martin Luther King, Jr., noted, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice...