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 [...]
Last November, the Supreme Court granted cert. review of the latest in a long series of challenges to the so-called birth-control mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Petitioners have argued that the mandate places a burden on their religious exercise, even with an accommodation from the government. All seven cases -- Nos. 14-1418, 14-1453, 14-1505, [...]
Most motions and applications made to the Supreme Court involve routine matters of procedure that don’t go to the merits of a case – such as a request for enlargement of a filing deadline or to dispense with the preparation of the joint appendix. Rules 21 and 22 generally govern these submissions. Counsel is [...]
After an unfavorable decision by a state’s highest court or a federal court of appeals, the losing party frequently asks itself: “Can’t we take this to the Supreme Court?” And while countless blog posts could be devoted to various aspects of this important question, one of the first decisions you must make is whether to [...]
Annual Supreme Court Terms commence, by statute, on the first Monday of October. 28 U.S.C. § 2 provides: "The Supreme Court shall hold at the seat of government a {T}erm of court commencing on the first Monday in October of each year…." Though Congress never specified on which day a Term should end, the Court prefers to [...]
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 delivery [...]