Amicus Briefs are submitted by non-parties to a case as a way of introducing information and concerns to the Court, demonstrating that a case’s outcome may have wider effects beyond the immediate parties to the suit. They can provide valuable assistance to the Court in its deliberations by presenting an argument or citing authorities not [...]
On this day in Supreme Court history, Congress enacted the Supreme Court Case Selections Act of 1988. The Act was designed to “improve the administration of justice by providing greater discretion to the Supreme Court in selecting the cases it will review, and for other purposes.” The Act amended 28 U.S.C. § 1257 to eliminate [...]
Where can I find information about electronic filing and the Appellate Case Management/Electronic Case Files (“CM/ECF”) system? All information about electronic filing and Appellate CM/ECF is available at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cmecf/ What color should I use for the cover of my brief? Opening Brief by appellant and petitioner: Blue Answering Brief by appellee and respondent: Red Reply [...]
When filing a brief in the United States Supreme Court, there are distinct formatting requirements that must be observed and followed. These requirements are set forth in Supreme Court Rule 33.1, which describes the Court’s required booklet formatting. Below are a few of the Supreme Court’s more obscure rules for filing in booklet format. Every [...]
Pro se is a legal term that comes from Latin, meaning "for oneself, on one's own behalf." It basically means that an individual is representing him- or her-self in court by choice without the help of an attorney. People may choose to represent themselves in court for a variety of reasons. Some want to avoid [...]
How Is Cockle Legal Briefs Different? We strive to craft the highest quality briefs. We succeed because we are the only Supreme Court brief printer to proofread everything—with teams of two professional readers—and our staff actively pursues an intimate knowledge of Court practices and conventions. Located in the heart of the nation, we are able [...]
Today in our look at Supreme Court history, we examine a lecture Justice William J. Brennan Jr. gave in 1985 entitled “In Defense of Dissents.” Brennan begins with the question: What does a judge…hope to accomplish by dissenting? After all, the law is the law, and in our system, whether in the legislature or the [...]
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is located in San Francisco, California, and serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Below are a few unique rules and attributes of the 9th Circuit. Cir. Rule 28-2.6 states that there must be a “Statement of Related Cases” section on the [...]
In the era of the New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt saw several cherished reforms get thrown out by the Supreme Court. On this day in Supreme Court history, May 27, 1935, three separate decisions were handed down which struck against Roosevelt's power. One, Humphrey's Executor v. United States, declared that Roosevelt could not dismiss regulatory appointees [...]
One of the services most valued by attorneys is proofreading. Because our goal is for all briefs to be as clean as possible when finished, at Cockle Legal Briefs, your documents are proofread, word-for-word, by two professionally-trained legal proofreaders. Our legal proofreaders are trained to read documents for misspellings, grammatical errors, improper sentence structure, and [...]