Judge Reinhardt Admonishes Appellate Lawyers:

An interesting case just decided today, in which it seems that the lawyers would have been wise not to appeal an erroneous district court decision -- and in which the lawyers' apparent error risked costing the clients many years in jail (though a Supreme Court case decided after the appeal was filed ended up precluding that result). I should note that I have not investigated the matter myself; but I'm inclined to trust Judge Reinhardt's analysis.