Respondents are not required to file a brief in opposition [except in capital cases], but if you do intend to file a brief in opposition, Supreme Court Rule 15 offers an important caution: [T]he brief in opposition should address any perceived misstatement of fact or law in the petition that bears on what issues properly [...]
At Cockle Legal Briefs, we work with quite a few non-lawyers filing their own petitions in the U.S. Supreme Court. Occasionally our conversations with these pro se litigants move beyond the necessary formatting and content requirements for a Supreme Court brief, and into more basic questions of legal writing. Over time, we have come up [...]
“Have you ever sat alone in a high mountain pass, watching an American eagle wheeling across a broad, blue sky? If you have, then you know why I prepare Appellate Briefs.” Sean C. Bradley, Esq. Previously, I wrote a blog about how we at Cockle Legal Briefs love America and Why We Love [...]
There may be an impulse to make a brief intricate, detailed, and complex in order to prove a point, but that method will backfire. Instead, the Supreme Court justices prefer simple clarity. Here are a few tips on how to accomplish clean copy when writing a legal brief. Legal writing expert Bryan Garner has had [...]
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 herself 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 [...]
Legal brief writing is the most important aspect of handling an appeal. In a court such as the United States Supreme Court, where review is discretionary, it may be the only chance you have to make your case. Even in courts where appeal is a matter of right, the majority of cases are decided on the [...]
I recently discovered an extremely helpful resource that sets out some essential guidelines for persuasive written advocacy. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for anyone wanting [...]
“Cockle Legal Briefs is the nation’s leading Supreme Court brief printer. The Supreme Court is an institution dedicated to upholding our sacred ideals of Constitutional democracy. So, Cockle equals liberty.” Sean C. Bradley, Esq. “The Supreme Court plays a very important role in our constitutional system of government. First, as the highest court in the [...]
I recently discovered an extremely helpful resource for legal brief writers. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for anyone wanting to know how to write a [...]
In my last post, I wrote about a cool resource I found that discusses the art of legal writing. Edited by Philip Allen Lacovara, senior counsel at Mayer Brown in New York, Effective Brief Writing, Chapter 7 of Federal Appellate Practice (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008), is a comprehensive and useful resource for [...]