The open cases are unanswered questions in the lives of the litigants, who have spent three, five, even 10 years in the court system. The Supreme Court, as the state's only appeals court, will have the final word. Some litigants feel that another few months' wait is no big deal, especially in light of the advantages of having judges who were present for oral arguments decide the case. For other litigants, every day that passes is agonizing, and the sooner the resolution, the better. The decision is difficult.
Oral argument is the one opportunity for lawyers in a case to interact with the justices.
Nevertheless, Saunders believes litigants ought to consider the court's offer in the interest of expediency. Three years of silence has been enough for the family whose case is the oldest on the docket. A brother has waited under a cloud of accusation, and a sister has agonized over what she believes to be a terrible injustice. The appellant is Mary Hopwood, who believes her brother Robert Pickett should not inherit his share of their murdered brother David Pickett's estate. Hopwood believes the two argued the night before over whether to sell the beach house, which the three siblings jointly owned, and that Robert killed David.