Book Review
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Pages | 0046 |
| Citation | Vol. 71 No. 1 Pg. 0046 |
Alabama Appellate Practice Guide
(1st edition, 2009)
By Ed Haden
Reviewed by Judge R. Bernard Harwood
The Alabama Appellate Practice Guide expertly supplies the longstanding need of practitioners for an in-depth, yet easily accessible handbook on Alabama appellate procedure. Authored by Ed Haden, chair of the appellate focus team of Balch & Bingham LLP, with the assistance of a group of editors fully knowledgeable in the field, this book is a splendid resource for any lawyer undertaking to navigate the often challenging pathways of Alabama appellate procedure. It walks the practitioner through every critical step of an appeal from a final judgment as well as all of the available interlocutory appeals, and likewise guides him or her through the intricacies of petitions for the writ of mandamus, the writ of prohibition and the writ of certiorari. Recognizing the sometimes daunting complexities involved in appellate procedures (often requiring consideration of the interrelationships among a variety of statutes, the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure and opinions of the Alabama Supreme Court and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals), Haden and his group of editors have gone to great lengths to make sure this practice guide is "user-friendly." The 273 pages of substantive text and the several appendices are readily accessible through the introductory "Detailed Table of Contents" and the concluding lengthy "plain English" index. The 17 chapters comprehensively cover the various areas of appellate practice in a logically organized order. In addition to fully treating the various steps and stages of appeals and applications for extraordinary writs, separate consideration is given to a variety of ancillary matters; for example, preserving error, cross-appeals and applications for rehearing. There are entire chapters devoted to such nuts-and-bolts subjects as appellate motions practice, staying judgments and composition of the record on appeal. Less routine areas, such as amicus curiae briefs, questions certified to the Alabama Supreme Court by federal courts and advisory opinions of the justices, are not neglected, receiving their own separate and full treatment.
The chapter on "When, Where and How to Appeal" provides a great road map for avoiding pitfalls in the timing and structure of an appeal, including such particularized procedures as appeals...
To continue reading
Request your trial