Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules is considering a proposal to amend Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(a) by requiring that a motion for leave be filed with all non-governmental amicus briefs in federal courts of appeals. In other words, if the proposed amendment were adopted, obtaining the parties’ consent to the […]

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Amicus Briefs Do Not Require Disqualification Of Supreme Court Justices

On November 13, 2023, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States issued a self-enforcing Code of Conduct applicable to themselves. The Code of Conduct section titled Disqualification includes the following statement: “Neither the filing of a brief amicus curiae nor the participation ofcounsel for amicus curiae requires a Justice’s disqualification” This statement

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ALF Urges 4th Circuit To Enforce Electronic Ticket Arbitration Agreements

Electronic tickets, purchased online for admission to sports, entertainment, and many other types of events, have become ubiquitous. When small groups, such as friends or family, plan to attend an event together, it is customary for one individual to purchase tickets for the group, download them to and store them on his or her mobile

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Proposition 65 Cancer Warning For Glyphosate Held Unconstitutional

OEHHA—the laughable acronym for the California agency responsible for requiring countless businesses to post ubiquitous Proposition 65 warning signs about hundreds of chemicals found in everyday products—has suffered a major defeat in the 9th Circuit. A panel held 2 to 1 that requiring businesses to provide a cancer warning about glyphosate (the active ingredient in

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ALF Amicus Brief Explains FRE 702’s Critical Role In Class-Certification Decisions

At least as far back as its participation as amicus curiae in the Daubert trilogy of Supreme Court decisions, the Atlantic Legal Foundation (ALF) has been one of the nation’s foremost advocates for ensuring that federal district judges fulfill their “gatekeeper” role under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.  Under Rule 702, federal district judges can admit into evidence, or otherwise rely

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Is A Federal District Judge’s Amicus Invitation To Junior Attorneys A Good Idea?

“What could be better than a federal judge’s open invitation that not only offers a junior attorney the incentive to be the principal author of a brie, but also the rare opportunity to present oral argument on behalf of an amicus curiae?” On March 21, 2023, Judge Lee P. Rudofsky of the U.S. District Court

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Larry Ebner Proposes Elimination of Amicus Consent/Permission Requirement In Federal Courts of Appeals

On behalf of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, Larry Ebner, who chairs the Center, has submitted a letter to the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure recommending that Fed. R. App. P. 29(a) be amended to eliminate the requirement to obtain the parties’ consent, or the court’s permission,

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DRI Public Policy Center Proposes Elimination of Amicus Consent/Permission Requirement In Federal Courts of Appeals

On behalf of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, I have submitted a letter to the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee recommending that Fed. R. App. P. 29(a) be amended to eliminate the requirement to obtain the parties’ consent, or the court’s permission, for filing amicus briefs. The Center’s recommendation follows the recent elimination

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Widely Read Op-Ed Urges Eliminating Amicus Consent Requirement In Federal Appeals Courts

When the Supreme Court announced that effective January 1, 2023, it no longer will require the parties’ consent, or the Court’s permission, to file an amicus brief, Capital Appellate Advocacy founder Larry Ebner posted a short alert about this development on LinkedIn. After that alert – which proposed that that the same requirement be eliminated

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ALF & DRI Argue That Climate-Change Damages Suits Belong in Federal, Not State, Courts

Bolstered by climate-change activists and the plaintiffs’ contingency-fee bar, more than two dozen state and local governments around the nation have filed state-court suits seeking damages from fossil fuel energy companies for allegedly causing, or contributing to, global climate change through greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions.  Masquerading as state-law nuisance and trespass suits, they seek “climate

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