The Decline of Oral Argument in the Federal Courts of Appeals: A Modest Proposal for Reform
Abstract
In the 1970s, oral argument was routinely granted and it was generously sized at thirty minutes per side. After a period of dramatic shrinkage in both frequency and length in the 1980s and 1990s, the role of oral argument has been greatly diminished. It is now the exception rather than the rule. In 2011, only one quarter of all federal appeals were orally argued from nearly two-thirds in the early 1980s, and the time allotted in most circuits was limited to fifteen minutes of less.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Legal Systems and Judicial Processes
Law
Economics
and Judicial Systems
Legal Education and Practice Innovations
Publication details
- Journal / source
- SSRN Electronic Journal
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 119
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Preprint