Words to the Wise: David C. Frederick's Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy

Oral argument in the Supreme Court was once a political and social event of the first order, a contest of rhetoric and oratory that bore a greater resemblance to Cicero's speeches in the Roman Forum than to the high-speed volley of question and answer that marks most arguments in today's Supreme Court.Arguments in the early Court were also tests of stamina.In McCulloch v. Maryland, the arguments of counsel spanned nine days, in Gibbons v. Ogden, the lawyers argued for five, and in Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, William Dutton, counsel for the petitioner, began his argument on Thursday and did not conclude it until Saturday.'Throughout, the Justices largely sat silent, leading Chief Justice Marshall to quip, perhaps * See David C. Frederick, Supreme Court