Amicus curiae – Latin for “friend of the court,” an amicus curiae is not a party to the case, but is a person, group, or organization who files a brief lending a unique perspective to the Court in the hopes it might influence the Court’s decision of an issue.
Brief in Opposition – The response to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the respondent setting out the reasons the Court should not grant certiorari. A brief in opposition is not mandatory, except in a capital case, and the right to file one is often waived.
Case law – The law as established in previous court decisions.
Conference – The private meeting held every two weeks during which the 9 justices decide which petitions for writs of certiorari to grant. Every petition that gets docketed gets distributed for conference, but only a select few are discussed. An even smaller number are actually granted.
Circuit court – One of the 13 United States Courts of Appeals comprising the intermediate appellate courts of the federal court system.
Docket – A docket is an official summary of proceedings in a court. It can also refer to a court’s calendar. In the Supreme Court, a case is “docketed” when it is placed on the Court’s docket and assigned a docket number.
En banc – French for “on the bench,” it is where all the judges of a court of appeals decide a case together as opposed to the usual panel of three judges.
Habeas corpus – Latin for “you have the body,” a petition for habeas corpus asks a federal court to review the legality of a prisoner’s detention and to justify the prisoner’s continued confinement.
Joint appendix – A joint appendix is a collection of legal documents from a case’s appellate record submitted by both parties at the merits stage of a Supreme Court case.
Judgment – The official decision of a court giving final resolution to the dispute between parties to a lawsuit.
Jurisdictional statement – A concise statement in an appellate brief which shows the court the basis of its jurisdiction to hear a case.
Merits stage – The round of briefing that occurs once the Court has granted certiorari in a case. At this stage, the focus in brief writing shifts from why a case should be heard to why a party should win.
Opinion – When a court decides a case, it typically issues a written summary of the facts and legal analysis used to arrive at a case’s decision.
Opinion below – The opinion issued by the court that heard the case immediately before appealing to the Supreme Court, usually from a federal court of appeals or a state court of last resort.
Order – A written instruction from a court directing a party or parties to take a certain required action.
Parties – The participants in a lawsuit or case.
Per curiam – Latin for “by the court,” refers to an unsigned opinion written for the court as a whole by an unidentified justice.
Petition for rehearing – A written request to a court by a losing party asking to rehear a case in light of new facts or circumstances.
Petition for writ of certiorari – A written request to the Supreme Court asking it to review the decision of a court below.
Petition for writ of mandamus – A judicial remedy granted by the Supreme Court, exceptionally rarely, where it orders a lower court to fulfill some legal obligation. Unlike a certiorari petition, there are no filing date constraints.
Petitioner – A party who lost in the lower court and asks the Supreme Court to review the decision of the lower court.
Pro se – A person who acts as one’s own attorney.
Question presented – A concise statement of the legal issue or issues the petitioner is asking the Court to resolve.
Reply – The petitioner’s response to the respondent’s brief in opposition.
Respondent – The party who won in the lower court.
Service – The mandatory process of presenting opposing parties with the documents filed in a court.
Statute – A law passed by a legislature.
Supreme court – The Supreme Court of the United States is the farthest you can appeal a case in the United States. It consists of 9 justices, appointed by a sitting president, who serve for life or until retirement. The Supreme Court hears cases on a discretionary basis, resolving federal law questions of great import and legal issues where the circuit courts or the highest state courts are in disharmony.
Table of authorities – A list of all of the cases, statutes, provisions, and other items one references in their brief.