Spring Forward: A Small Reminder of Why the Work Matters

This weekend the clocks move forward an hour. The shift is small, almost trivial. Yet we all know somehow that the time change carries a quiet signal: winter is loosening its grip. Light is returning. Evenings stretch a little longer. The world opens up again.

That extra hour of light has a way of putting things in perspective.

Appellate defense work is not glamorous. Most of it happens quietly, far away from courtrooms and juries. It is hours spent reading records, combing through testimony line by line, asking: Did something go wrong here?

Sometimes, the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is yes. And when it is yes, that is when the real work begins.

An appeal is a second look. It is the legal system’s acknowledgement that we all make mistakes. The appellate process exists because fairness requires someone to look again. That responsibility is something I never take lightly.

Every file on my desk represents a real person. A real life that has been profoundly affected by the outcome of a trial. As we spring forward, I am reminded that progress happens slowly, often invisibly at first. But over time, the law moves forward too.

As the days grow longer, let us remind ourselves to observe the flowers, slow down in the evenings, and see the light.