Though the Supreme Court cancelled its March argument session and extended deadlines for many cases, paper copy filing continues unencumbered here at Cockle. As Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law reported yesterday, "It seems unlikely that the pandemic will spur a shift [at One First Street]. 'Paper filings are still required,' said Patricia McCabe, [...]
Supreme Court Rule 21 governs motion practice, which often involves routine matters of procedure that don’t go to the merits of a case. Counsel is advised to concisely state what relief is requested and the reason it should be granted. These filings are either acted upon directly by the Clerk’s Office or forwarded to the Justices for [...]
Pro se is a legal term that comes from Latin, denoting “for oneself, or on one’s own behalf.” It means that an individual is representing him- or her-self in court, by choice, without the help of an attorney. Given the state of our economy and the rising costs of legal representation, it should come as no [...]
Supreme Court Rule 29.2 – the Court’s Mailbox Rule – operates so that a document is filed if, on or before its due date, it is: Received by the Clerk; Shipped to the Clerk through the United States Postal Service using postmarked first-class mail (a commercial postage meter cannot be used); or Handed to a third-party commercial carrier for [...]
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 [...]
In forma pauperis (IFP) proceedings are those cases in which the Supreme Court allows an indigent party to file a petition for writ of certiorari without paying its $300 filing fee or preparing printed booklets (to learn about filing IFP Briefs in Opposition, click here). A petition worthy of certiorari is generally thought to contain [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Courts “often choose to be late to the harvest of American ingenuity," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., in the Supreme Court's 2014 year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary. "Courts understandably proceed cautiously in introducing new information technology systems until they have fairly considered how to keep the information contained therein [...]