The United States Supreme Court has adopted a revised version of its Rules of Court that are set to take effect on October 1, 2007. The new rules will affect any business litigating before the court. Companies, trade associations, and interest groups should pay particular attention to changes in the rules governing amicus briefs.
Business interests that are not parties to pending cases are often interested in the issues being dealt with by the court. Companies often participate in cases through trade associations or otherwise by filing amicus briefs. The court has been considering adding a requirement that the first footnote of an amicus brief indicate whether counsel or a party is a member of the amicus curiae or made a monetary contribution to the preparation or submission of the brief. The final version of the rule did not impose this sweeping disclosure requirement. Instead, under new Rule 37.6, the first footnote of an amicus brief must indicate whether a party or its counsel “made a monetary contribution to the preparation or submission of an amicus curiae brief in the capacity of a member of the entity filing as amicus curiae. Such disclosure is limited to monetary contributions that are intended to fund the preparation or submission of the brief; general membership dues in an organization need not be disclosed.”
The procedure for amicus filings have also been changed. Under the new Rule 37.2, amicus briefs in favor of or in opposition to granting certiorari, which formerly were due when the brief in opposition was due, must now be filed within 30 days after the case is docketed. In cases where a respondent waives its right to file a brief in opposition to the petition but the court requests a response, amicus briefs may be filed on the date such a response is due. Anyone filing an amicus brief is now required to notify the parties of their intent to file a brief at least ten days before that brief is due. This will give the respondent an opportunity to seek an extension of time to file its response so that it can address arguments advanced in the amicus brief. Amicus briefs on the merits must be filed within 7 days after the brief for the party supported is filed or, if the brief is in support of neither party, within 7 days after the date for filing the petitioner’s brief. Under this procedure, an amicus will have an opportunity to review the completed brief of the party it is supporting before filing its own brief.
All litigants in the Supreme Court will be affected by the new rules eliminating the old page limitation for briefs and petitions in favor of word count limitations. The new word count provisions found in Rule 33 are similar to those that have been used in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure since the 1998 amendments to those rules. Petitions for writ of certiorari and briefs in opposition to a petition may not exceed 9,000 words, while a reply in support of a petition is limited to 3,000 words. Amicus briefs in support or opposition to a petition are limited to 3,000 words. Briefs on the merits are limited to 15,000 words, with reply briefs on the merits limited to 7,500 words. Amicus briefs on the merits will be limited to 9,000 words.
The court has, for the most part, retained its strict guidelines for how petitions and briefs are to be formatted. Documents must now be in 12-point font for text and 10-point font for footnotes, instead of the former 11-point rule for all text. The court now requires that all documents be typeset in a “Century family” font, such as Century Expanded, New Century Schoolbook, or Century Schoolbook. All parties filing merits briefs, including amicic curiae, are required to transmit electronic versions of the briefs to the court.
The court has also shortened the briefing schedule at the merits stage. Under the old rules, a respondent’s brief was due 35 days after the petitioner’s brief. New rule 25 requires that brief to be filed 30 days after the petitioner’s brief, with any reply brief due 30 days after the respondent’s brief has been filed.
Complete Text of
the Revised Rules: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ctrules/2007rulesofthecourt.pdf