Opinion ID: 778741
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Presentation of the Case

Text: 71 It is evident from the record that counsel for both parties sought to zealously represent their clients' interests at the trial of this case. However, at times, counsel's actions showed an excessive emphasis on their roles as zealous advocates. Counsel must remember that they are not only advocates for their clients; they are also officers of the court and are expected to assist the court in the administration of justice, particularly in difficult cases involving complex issues of law and technology. Judge Bennett has described the interplay between these roles in the following terms: 72 An attorney's obligations to provide zealous advocacy on behalf of his client are not absolute and uncompromising, but must be viewed in light of his additional obligations as an officer of the court to promote the administration of justice and to comply with the court's rules, notices, and orders. Additionally, as with his obligations to his client, the attorney's obligations to the court are ongoing at every stage of the litigation and the attorney must continually reevaluate the positions advanced in light of both the development of the litigation itself and of the relevant case law affecting the litigation. 73 In re Solerwitz, 848 F.2d 1573, 1577 (Fed. Cir.1988). 74 Given the wide variety of lawsuits that are brought in district courts, it is incumbent on trial counsel to assist the court and to fully and fairly present the legal issues in the case within the applicable statutory and common law framework relevant to the factual dispute before the court for resolution. At times, both during and after trial in this case, counsel appear to have sought to cloud rather than clarify the central legal issues and to draw the court's attention to peripheral matters. Counsel's overlooking of their respective roles as officers of the court has contributed, at least in part, to these protracted proceedings. We have alluded above to two issues: the mistaken focus on whether the Red Rider was a fast-steering trowel, and the largely irrelevant issue of Bartell's alleged copying of the Flying Frame. The record also reveals serious misstatements of applicable law, beginning with the mischaracterization of the holding of Graham v. John Deere cited above. Another example is the reference in post-trial briefs to a Fifth Circuit synergism test for the patentability of combination inventions, a test which was specifically abrogated in this Circuit by Stratoflex, Inc. v. Aeroquip Corp., 713 F.2d 1530, 1540, 218 USPQ 871, 880 (Fed.Cir.1983). Allen's Post-Trial Br. at 20; Reply Br. at 24. The record is replete with obfuscation, deflection and mischaracterization. 75 We trust that counsel in this case, mindful of their role as officers of the court, will do a better job on remand and will assiduously assist the court in conducting further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 76 AFFIRMED-IN-PART, REVERSED-IN-PART, VACATED-IN-PART, AND REMANDED