But No One Argued That: Sua Sponte Decisions in the Federal Courts

Brian Paul spoke on “But No One Argued That: Sua Sponte Decisions in the Federal Courts” for the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, along with Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and District Judge Edmond E. Chang of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

They discussed a topic of recurring interest: sua sponte decisions by federal courts. Brian and the judges examined (in)famous examples of sua sponte decisions, judicial and practitioner criticisms of the practice, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent take on the issue in United States v. Sineneng-Smith (2020) and the path forward — including open questions — in the wake of that decision.