MORE THAN JUST A NEW LOOK

Posted August 14, 2015 – No, you don’t need new glasses. And you haven’t reached the wrong website. Today marks the launch of a revised version of this website, the first wholesale update I’ve had since I first published it ten years and seven months ago today. Here’s what’s new:

First and foremost, we’ve brought the site up to current website technology, so it’ll be less susceptible to technical glitches and hacking. We’ve been operating on the 2005 platform long enough.

We’ve optimized it for mobile devices, so the site will read well on tablets and smartphones.

For those of you who’ve been asking for an RSS feed, I’ve heard you. I’ve resisted doing that before, because I periodically make small changes to the site without changing the actual content – for example, correcting a typographical error or moving essays from the home page to the archives – and I didn’t want to send out a lot of false pings. We’ve addressed that by allowing you to sign up for notifications when I make meaningful changes, such as a new essay or case analysis. If you’ll check in the upper right-hand corner of any page, you’ll see a red link to a sign-up page. Click on that link, and you’re on your way.

By the way, in case you’re concerned, I plan to treat that e-mail list the same as I do my mailing list. I’ll never disclose it and will never sell (or even lend) it to anyone else. Theoretically I could get a court order, but I consider that prospect to be extraordinarily remote.

There are a couple of immediately noticeable changes: there’s a new photo in the upper left-hand corner (I liked the original one better, but I got outvoted), and I’ve switched from the original Arial type to my preferred Georgia. In my opinion, Georgia looks better on a screen, and I like to make my posts easy to read.

Here’s what won’t change: the content. I plan to post the same kind of analysis, updates, and notifications that have appeared here since 2005. And you’ll still get a dollop of appellate humor from time to time, along with advice on how brand-new rulings will affect how you try your case next Tuesday.

I’ll ask for your help in one regard. This changeover has had its fair share of glitches, and we’ve done what we can to patch those before today’s launch. But I have long respected Mark Twain’s sage observation, “It’s impossible to make anything foolproof, because fools are so damned ingenious.”

No, I didn’t just call you a fool; I’m only acknowledging that no technical innovation comes without a few bugs. My request to you is simple: if you spot a problem, please let me know about it. You can e-mail me at emmert@virginia-appeals.com. I promise to address each report, and to send you a note afterward to let you know what I’ve done.

Thanks for your interest in the site. Health and happiness to each of you.