All About Strategizing, Writing, & Filing Amicus Briefs Why this newsletter? Because hundreds & hundreds of amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs are filed every year in the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts. Amicus briefs have become an important, well-accepted part of appellate litigation. They give a voice to […]
All Things Amicus Newsletter Read More »
I have authored and filed a petition-stage amicus brief on behalf of Green Oceans, an environmental group that opposes construction and operation of dozens of gigantic wind turbines on the Outer Contintental Shelf (“OCS”) off the Rhode Island and Massachusetts coasts. The amicus brief supports two pending certiorari petitions that seek review of a First
The certiorari petition in Save Jobs USA v. Department of Homeland Security (24-923) asks the Supreme Court to decide whether DHS has authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15), to decide, independently of Congress, which statutorily defined classes of nonimmigrant alien visa holders can work while in the United States. Resolution of
In my article titled Five Myths About Appellate Lawyers, published in the February 2025 edition of DRI’s For The Defense magazine, I debunk the following myths: Read my article to find out why each of these statements is wrong!
Five Myths About Appellate Lawyers Read More »
On February 14, 2025 the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules heard testimony via Teams on proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29. The proposed amendments would (i) expand the funding-related disclosure requirements set forth in Rule 29(a)(4)(E), and (ii) eliminate the filing of court of appeals amicus briefs with the
Testimony Before U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules Read More »
The DRI Center for Law and Public Policy has issued its 2024 Annual Report. It includes both a message from me as Immediate Past Chair and a tribute to my leadership of the Center during 2023 and 2024.
2024 Annual Report – DRI Center for Law and Public Policy Read More »
The pending certiorari petition in Hain Celestial Group, Inc. & Whole Foods Market, Inc. v. Palmquist, No. 24-724, presents an important unresolved question fundamental to ALF’s civil justice mission. ALF has filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant review. Case Background The Fifth Circuit’s holding that the district court’s final judgment in
ALF Urges Supreme Court To Reject “Post-Judgment Vertical Forum Shopping” Read More »
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in FDA v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., No. 23-1187, to decide whether a federally regulated product’s manufacturer and retailers can join together, in a single federal court of appeals, to challenge a final agency action that impairs their shared commercial interests. On behlaf of ALF, I have authored a merits-stage
ALF Advocates Broad View of “Statutory Standing” To Challenge Federal Regulatory Actions Read More »
The Mexican government has sued heavily regulated U.S. firearms manufacturers for $10 billion in damages and sweeping injunctive relief to redress “social costs” that it alleges to have incurred as a result of gun violence in Mexico. According to Mexico’s complaint, filed in Massachusetts federal district court, the defendant manufacturers have knowingly “aided and abetted”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has taken the unusual step of granting en banc review to address the question of whether a federal district court properly exercised its gatekeeping role under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 in a patent infringement case. More specifically, the en banc Federal Circuit in EcoFactor, Inc. v.
