An amicus brief can play a unique role in a Supreme Court case, providing a different perspective or valuable context for the justices. But when it’s in a pile with dozens of others competing for the court's attention, how can a friend-of-the-court brief stand out from the rest?
It is an ever more pressing question. Lately, the U.S. Supreme Court has been swamped with amicus briefs. Last term, more than 1,000 amicus briefs were filed in decided cases at the high court, a 19 percent increase over the previous term, according to a Law360 analysis.
The justices themselves often say they read only a handful, usually just the ones their law clerks have recommended. And few of those briefs are cited in the high court’s opinions — only 8 percent over the past three terms...
“Appellate law is a specialty, and within that amicus briefs are a specialty,” said M.C. Sungaila, partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP and chair of the amicus curiae committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel.
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