You know from my earlier videos that the amicus briefs are trash, and Ben Chew does not hide the fact that he agrees! In this video we look at the memorandum he has filed opposing the request of the amici curiae to have their briefs considered by the Court of Appeals. Ben is a master at remaining formally correct to give himself the leeway to speak with candor, and this brief has lots of examples of that. Like me, Ben sees these briefs as a transparent attempt to evade the page limits that are supposed to apply to Amber's arguments. However, I think he missed some opportunities to make an impression on the court and may come across as out of his comfort zone in the Court of Appeals. Ultimately, the norm is to allow the amicus briefs as a courtesy, but Team Johnny should have confidence that the Court of Appeals will be capable of seeing that the amicus briefs do not merit a response and decline to waste time rebutting them. 00:00 Intro 00:23 The formality of the writing is notable and strategic 04:03 Remember, the Court of Appeals is new to the case and probably not annoyed yet 06:10 Relying upon the honor of the trial judges isn't necessarily effective 09:50 Reasons are better than italics for emphasis 10:41 A missed opportunity to nerd out with the appellate court 14:21 The synopsis of Ben's overall argument is contained in the introduction 18:30 Primacy and recency means end on a snarky note 20:19 Technical defects are fine to point out but can usually be cured 22:15 But leave it to Amber's amici to annoy the court into throwing them out 24:01 The header for argument 2 is better than the argument 28:34 Procedurally, whether and how to respond to amici briefs is ambiguous 31:24 A formatting pet peeve - fix that widow! 32:38 Quoting and citing trash from the briefs would have been how to show, not tell 34:34 The use of the law in the brief is a bit underwhelming 38:39 I would have preferred focusing on the burden on the court, not the burden on Johnny 40:22 The amici aren't going to move the needle so not responding isn't catastrophic 42:19 The decision making process is opaque and we don't know when the court will rule 43:40 Prediction: They'll be allowed, but Amber might wish they weren't 45:40 Up next: Johnny's reply has been filed, so it's time for a deep dive on his appeal! Review of the (trash) first Amicus brief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heSTGM4cbLg Review of the (worse) second Amicus brief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASn-Kh8Izrg