Boston Herald
September 10, 2015
The Boston Herald recently called on Nexsen Pruet's Billy Wilkins for insight in reporting on the New England Patriot "deflategate" scandal.
Columnist Bob McGovern began by noting "federal appeals are complicated, and Patriots fans are going to get well acquainted with the intricacies of the grueling process in the coming months."
The case is headed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, so McGovern called on Wilkins, who is former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
An excerpt from the report:
“As far as issues of law are concerned, the appellate court does not defer to the lower court. That does not mean the appellate court will not look at the legal reasoning made by the district court, but it does mean it doesn’t have to accept it.”
Federal appeals courts don’t see many cases where a judge vacates an arbitration award — and in those unique situations, the decision is frequently upheld.
“I think we can say our district court judges do a good job,” Wilkins said, referring to why so many decisions in civil cases don’t get overturned. “They get it right most of the time.”
William W. “Billy” Wilkins leads Nexsen Pruet’s White-Collar Crime, Appellate Advocacy, and Corporate Compliance/Crisis Management practices.
