What wins the day in arguing a motion in limine? A single argument or a decision tree approach of “Your Honor, we prevail because of Rule A, but Rule D also applies and so might F?” One answer may come from studying the dilution effect and an experiment on drug safety side effects information.

On the way there, we need to start with the conventional wisdom in appellate practice. Just as too many cooks may spoil the broth, raising too many claims for appellate review may spoil the one or two valid ones. In the world of appellate advocacy, this has become not merely lore or collective wisdom but a guiding principle embraced as a standard for attorney effectiveness. As one court proclaimed, “the number of claims raised in an appeal is usually in inverse proportion to their merit and that a large number of claims raises the presumption that all are invalid.” See Commonwealth v. Ellis, 534 Pa. 176, 183 (1993).