sbradley

/Sean Bradley
Sean Bradley

About Sean Bradley

Sean is a graduate of Creighton University School of Law. He has tried cases in state and federal courts, presided as an administrative law judge, and testified in support of major statutory reforms. Through his work as a public interest lawyer--representing domestic violence victims, housing eviction defendants, and public benefits claimants--Sean has developed an acute understanding of the street-level consequences of our nation’s political and legal debates. Sean is an Omaha native, and is raising two terrific children in this great city. After work, Sean enjoys reading irrelevant fiction, toiling over the New York Times crossword, and arguing with his good friends (and he is quite often right, with the crossword at least).
17 Apr, 2018

Conference Timing Through The End Of The Term

2019-03-18T18:47:13-05:00April 17th, 2018|

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 [...]

17 May, 2017

Questions Presented: New Practice Note

2019-03-18T18:47:16-05:00May 17th, 2017|

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 [...]

23 Mar, 2017

Second Circuit Court of Appeals: Odd Local Rules

2019-03-18T18:47:17-05:00March 23rd, 2017|

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals—like every other federal circuit court—uses both the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP), as well as its own set of local rules (LR). The FRAP lays out general practice standards for all of the federal appellate courts, but also allows the circuits to compile their own rules that can expand, [...]

23 Feb, 2017

How Good Is Your Legal Proofreading?

2019-03-18T18:47:18-05:00February 23rd, 2017|

At Cockle Legal Briefs, we offer the most thorough and complete legal proofreading in the industry. We do not simply review the draft for rule compliance, or assign a single reader to quickly scan the draft for obvious errors. Our teams of two readers examine every line, word, and character to find any possible problem [...]

27 Oct, 2016

Circuit Court of Appeals: New Amicus Rules

2019-03-18T18:47:19-05:00October 27th, 2016|

On December 1st, 2016, new amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) will go into effect. Some of the changes will significantly impact federal appellate practice. A practitioner representing an amicus filer in a circuit court of appeals will need to pay particular attention to changes in FRAP 29. Circuit Court of Appeals: The [...]

13 Sep, 2016

Circuit Court of Appeals: New Brief Size Limits

2019-03-18T18:47:20-05:00September 13th, 2016|

On December 1st, 2016, new amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) will go into effect. Some of the changes will significantly impact federal appellate practice. A practitioner in a circuit court of appeals will need to pay particular attention to the amendments that will shorten permissible brief limits for briefs. Circuit Court [...]

25 Aug, 2016

Legal Writing Tips: Petition Hints For The Non-Lawyer

2019-03-18T18:47:20-05:00August 25th, 2016|

Cockle Legal Briefs works with non-lawyers filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court. Occasionally our conversations with our pro se customers move beyond the necessary formatting and content requirements for a Supreme Court brief, and into more basic questions of legal writing. We have a few general legal writing tips. [...]

17 Aug, 2016

Legal Writing Tips: Help For The Non-Lawyer

2019-03-18T18:47:20-05:00August 17th, 2016|

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. We have a few general legal [...]

3 Aug, 2016

Legal Brief Format: The Cover

2019-03-18T18:47:20-05:00August 3rd, 2016|

An important element of the legal brief format is the cover. The first item that will be read by the justices, the cover not only provides basic information about the case, it can also convey subtly profound cues about the quality of the argument contained within the pages. The Facts Rule 34.1 lays out the [...]

11 Feb, 2016

Petition-Stage Reply Brief: When Is It Due?

2019-03-18T18:47:22-05:00February 11th, 2016|

A challenging concept for new Supreme Court filers is determining the due date for the petition-stage reply brief. Here is the answer: there is no due date for the petition-stage reply brief. Petitions have set due dates, determined by the concluding date of lower court considerations. Likewise, respondents and amici have clear deadlines, counting from [...]