SCOTUS Litigators Change Tactics as Court Issues More Summary Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court is issuing summary decisions without arguments or full briefing in an increasing number of cases, and it’s changing the way litigators are pitching their cases to the justices.
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued 12 unsigned summary rulings this term, the most in at least a decade, the National Law Journal reports. These rulings began to increase when Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court in 2005, the story says, “and could represent a quiet and relatively painless effort to bulk up the docket without lengthy and expensive briefing and argument.”
Mayer Brown partner Stephen Shapiro, co-author of Supreme Court Practice, told the NLJ that he used to advise lawyers seeking cert to focus on whether the case fits the standards of review, rather than focus on the merits. “We don’t give that advice any more,” Shapiro said. “Practitioners need to be aware that summary treatment is a possibility.”
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