Arizona appellate courts
independently examine whether they
have jurisdiction in every appeal, even
when neither party raises the issue,
and will not turn a blind eye
toward jurisdictional violations. 1 Using this power,
Arizona appellate courts
since January 2012 published
nine opinions that discuss premature notices of appeal and the consequences thereof. 2 These decisions illustrate that Court of Appeals judges made
a conscious effort to educate lawyers
about their strict commitment to the
procedures that must be followed before
that court has jurisdiction. The result—at
least temporarily—was an increased number of appeals dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Counsel who litigate in Arizona
GARY J. COHEN is a Partner with Mesch, Clark and Rothschild PC in Tucson, and a member
of that firm’s Trials and Appeals Section. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation,
personal injury, employment, medical malpractice and appellate law. Gary has been a Judge
Pro Tem since 2004 with the Pima County Superior Court, and is the former chair of the State
Bar Appellate Practice Section. He also has been an adjunct law professor since 2010 at the
James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, where he graduated in 1993.
NICHOLAS S. BAUMAN is a third-year law student at the James E. Rogers College of Law
at the University of Arizona, and is a law clerk at Mesch, Clark and Rothschild PC.
Focus on Appellate Law
False Start
New Arizona Rules
Help Prevent Premature
Notices of Appeal
BY GARY J. COHEN & NICHOLAS S. BAUMAN
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