What is the importance of oral argument in judicial decis essays

What is the importance of oral argument in judicial decis essays Oral argument in appellate courts has become more and more unusual. In a few courts, oral argument is only heard when requested or when ordered by the court. (Mosk, 2) The time allowed for oral argument has dropped sufficiently as well. In one case from the 1800s, Dartmouth College vs. Woodward, Daniel Webster argued for three days. (www.landmarkcases.org) In 1970, The Supreme Court changed the rules from allowing one hour of oral argument from each side to only allotting thirty minutes. (www.landmarkcases.org) Oral argument has become shorter and less common but does that mean that it lacks importance? It is argued that judges make up their minds after reading the briefings and that oral argument is not needed for a decision to be reached. (Bach, 11/30/2004) In the 1980s, Judge Myron H. Bright, United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit, tracked the amount of cases where himself and two of his colleagues changed their ruling based on oral argument. The judges would read the briefings and declare a provisional conclusion. Then after hearing the oral arguments, the judges noted whether the final conclusion was consistent with the provisional conclusion. The end results were that Bright changed his opinion thirty-one percent of the time, while his two colleagues changed theirs seventeen percent and thirteen percent of the time. (Bright, 17) Supreme Court Justice Scalia stated that oral argument is more than a time for the lawyer to speak their point but it is a time for Justices to exchange information among themselves. You hear the questions of others and see how their minds are working, and that stimulates your own thinking. I use it to give counsel his or her best shot at meeting my difficulty with that side of the case. (www.weta/pastproductions.org). Justice John M. Harlan wrote oral argument gives an opportunity for interchange between court and counsel which briefs do not give. For my pa...