Opinion ID: 790064
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Obligations of Appellate Counsel

Text: 22 In his opening brief before this Court, petitioner did not challenge the SEC's determination that he engaged in discretionary trading. He commented on the discretionary trading charge in his recitation of the factual background, but did not dispute the Commission's discretionary trading findings as unsupported by substantial evidence, violating due process, or on any other ground. Instead, the charge of discretionary trading is made the centerpiece of appellant's reply brief. 23 We think it reasonable to hold appellate counsel to a standard that obliges a lawyer to include his most cogent arguments in his opening brief, upon pain of otherwise finding them waived. See D'Alessio v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 380 F.3d 112, 120 n. 11 (2d Cir.2004); Booking v. Gen. Star Mgmt. Co., 254 F.3d 414, 418 (2d Cir.2001). Thus, arguments not raised in an appellant's opening brief, but only in his reply brief, are not properly before an appellate court even when the same arguments were raised in the trial court. See Knipe v. Skinner, 999 F.2d 708, 711 (2d Cir.1993). Compliance with Rule 28(a)(9) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure requires an appellant to state his contentions and provide reasons for them. Adhering to this Rule promotes the orderly briefing and consideration of appeals. See Mitchell v. Fishbein, 377 F.3d 157, 164 (2d Cir.2004). 24 In his reply brief petitioner contends that the challenge to his trading conviction was subsumed within his overall challenge to the procedural fairness and evidentiary basis of the Commission's decision. Quite the contrary, the due process and evidentiary challenges raised in the opening brief related solely to his contention that he did not have an impermissible interest in the Oakford account. To the extent that an unexpressed challenge to the discretionary trading conviction may have been hidden between the lines of petitioner's brief, it is not our obligation to ferret out a party's arguments. That, after all, is the purpose of briefing. 25 Discretionary trading is an independent violation under Rule 11a-1(a), and thus we need not reach McCarthy's due process and evidentiary challenges because an independent ground for the Commission's decision remains unchallenged. Of course, we may excuse an appellant's failure to make an argument in his opening brief and give a further opportunity to the parties to address the issue. Mitchell, 377 F.3d at 165. McCarthy insists that, at most, he simply de-emphasized the discretionary trading issue in his opening brief and asks us to exercise our discretion to overlook this lapse.