for it separately, distinctly, clearly and concisely. There is a
temptation to include all that can be thought of, good, bad and
indifferent; and whether this is done or not will depend largely
on the opinion which the lawyers have of the ability of the
court.

In the smaller States the judges have time to enable all to study
each case with care. In the largest ones it is not uncommon to
assign every case on the docket, in advance of the argument, to a
particular judge. He is expected to give it special attention
with a view to reporting his conclusions upon it to the court,
and, should they be approved in consultation, to writing out its
opinion subsequently. The assignment for a term of court is not
infrequently made in the order in which the docket (or printed
list of cases to be heard) is made out, the chief justice taking
the first case, the senior associate justice the second, and so
on. At the next term the same practice will be pursued, except
that the justice next in seniority to the one who had the last
case under the previous assignments will now take the first case
on the new list, and the next junior justice the second.

Appellate courts generally sit not over four or five hours a day;
this time being either preceded or followed by a consultation.
They are seldom in session more than five days in the week. The
cases before them are not usually assigned for argument on
particular days. A list is made up of all which are ready to be
heard, numbered in order, the oldest first. They are then taken
up successively as reached, and the counsel concerned in each
must be ready at their peril. Often a limit is fixed by rule as
to the number of cases that can be called for argument in any one