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 U.S. Supreme Court Rules describe an utterly unique and highly specific set of practice standards. Every new filer—whether she is a seasoned litigator with years of experience in the lower courts, or a pro se petitioner—should review the Rules to make sure the document will be accepted by the Clerk. However, many of the [...]
U.S. Supreme Court filings, governed by the Supreme Court Rules, can present a daunting task, even for experienced appellate litigators. The form and format requirements date from an earlier time in American law, when lawyers presented their appellate court briefs as formal, elegantly prepared publications. While most courts now allow stapled, desktop printing, the U.S. [...]
On January 12, 2010, the Supreme Court announced revisions to its rules, which will take effect in all proceedings on February 16, 2010. The Court’s press release announcing the changes can be viewed here. The order and revisions can be reviewed here. The majority of the revisions are simply clarification of previously existing, but unstated, [...]