ADVOCACY IN CRIMINAL APPEALS By Stephen Keim SC (original) (raw)

This article looks at those aspects of advocacy that are of particular relevance to criminal appeals. There are, of course, skills and abilities that are required in all aspects of advocacy, including the conduct of criminal appeals. There are also obstacles to being a good and effective advocate that apply across all areas of advocacy. Compared to most fields of endeavour, the art of advocacy is unique in that we have few, if any, opportunities to do rehearsals for our performances. As advocates, we are always broadcasting live. ADVOCACY: 'THE GETTING OF WISDOM' The music teacher sits her student in front of a piano and takes her through the next piece. The student goes home and practises the piece, endless times, and returns to the critical gaze of the teacher to be cajoled and corrected and critiqued before returning to the practice arena for another week. And so on until the performance of the piece is close to perfect. Along the way, the student picks up substantive knowledge: new notes and new chords and new combinations of each. The student learns new skills: finger placements, dynamics, colour, and shades of expression. And the student develops the ability to perform that piece, an ability that can be maintained over the years with a modicum of practice. In most performance activities, even the accomplished in the field continue to have coaches or teachers who help them to make adjustments and improvements to ensure that their next performance is as good as, or even better than, their last.