Petitioning the Supreme Court can be a daunting task. Careless writing, poor formatting, and ignorance of the Court’s rules can significantly decrease the odds that your petition will be selected for review. Filing a brief fraught with errors makes it nearly impossible to win any appeal. By developing a working knowledge of the essentials [...]
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. [...]
Pilots are required to learn and use checklists for every aspect of flight, from preparing for take-off to dealing with equipment malfunction. It was a checklist that helped Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffery Skiles safely land their US Airways flight in the Hudson River after the plane's engines were damaged by a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Pilots are required to learn and use checklists for every aspect of flight, from preparing for take-off to dealing with equipment malfunction. It was a checklist that helped Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffery Skiles safely land their US Airways flight in the Hudson River after the plane's engines were damaged by a [...]
The Supreme Court’s rules are complex. Even the most experienced practitioners sometimes need help understanding the particulars. As the leading producer of Supreme Court briefs in the country, we are experts at managing the entire process of brief preparation, from consultation to filing. Our services include: Interpreting court requirements; Navigating complex filing rules; Expert [...]
Pilots are required to learn and use checklists for every aspect of flight, from preparing for take-off to dealing with equipment malfunction. It was a checklist that helped Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffery Skiles safely land their US Airways flight in the Hudson River after the plane's engines were damaged by a [...]
While Supreme Court experts offer nuanced distinctions on how to construct the argument section in a petition for writ of certiorari, most agree that accounting for the difference in purpose between a cert. petition and a brief filed in the lower courts is essential. The paramount difference between a petition and a lower court [...]
Sup. Ct. R. 29 governs the filing and service of Supreme Court documents. Also known as the Court’s “mailbox rule,” Rule 29.2 operates so that a document is filed with the Court if, on or before the due date, it is: Received by the Clerk; Shipped to the Clerk through the United States Postal Service using postmarked [...]