We are getting near the end of the Court’s October 2017 Term. Some petitioners and respondents might be thinking about timing their filings to either have the case considered this term, or have it carried through the summer and into next fall. The last conference for this term is June 21st, and the last paid-petition [...]
The Supreme Court receives many types of documents each day for its review. Appeals to the Supreme Court alone encompass a lot of different types of briefs, including petitions, briefs in opposition, amicus curiae briefs, and reply and supplemental briefs, to name a few. Less frequently, but equally important, are original actions, which are governed [...]
The Supreme Court receives thousands of filings. These include various types of briefs, motions, and applications. The motions and applications the Court receives may include issues such as motions to file amicus curiae briefs, motions or applications for filing date extensions, and applications for stays of orders from the lower courts. Stay applications are frequently [...]
While the rules for the Supreme Court provide the guidance necessary for producing a compliant brief, there are some unwritten requirements that every filer should be aware of when preparing their Petition and Petition Stage Reply brief. Failure to comply with these unwritten rules may result in having your filing rejected by the Court. Petitions [...]
Two of the most common pitfalls when drafting an amicus brief in the Supreme Court can be found on the first page: Interest of Amicus Curiae section and the required Footnote 1 information. Fortunately, these errors are easily remedied and can often be avoided. In this post, we will discuss how to best handle your [...]
Once a brief is finalized and ready for printing, one of the final decisions is the method of mailing for the service parties and the Court. Fortunately, Supreme Court Rule 29 provides the following straightforward guidelines for ensuring your document is filed and served in a timely manner. Filing The Court follows the mailbox rule–meaning [...]
The most elemental feature of a petition for writ of certiorari is the Questions Presented page. Here the petitioner must concisely set out the basic issues at stake. Experienced Supreme Court practitioners consider a well-crafted Questions Presented to be the most critical tool for gaining cert consideration. In the words of Supreme Court scholar Stephen [...]
The Cockle Blog’s focus in recent weeks on a particular line on U.S. Supreme Court petition covers was not intended as an ongoing, multipart series, but there appear to be more nuances involved than initially apparent. A question raised when composing every petition (and subsequent brief) cover is which is the correct lower court to [...]
While most of the legal community has focused on the substance of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Foster v. Chatman, 578 U.S. ___ (May 23, 2016) (No. 14-8349) (something to do with cluttering up attorney files with notes on jury selection), the Cockle Blog is all over the Court’s procedural focus in that [...]
Pending at the U.S. Supreme Court is a “never-before-raised procedural issue,” raised at the Court’s own prompting in “a truly rare move,” that relates to a requirement that everyone filing a petition for certiorari must address every time on the cover. Every petition cover must insert a lower court’s name in the blank in the [...]