The time to "take" an appeal varies by jurisdiction but the most common time limit is 30 days or less from entry of the Order/Judgment being appealed.  close

An appeal is perfected when the necessary documents are filed with the appeals court enabling the case to be calendared for a certain term.  close

The rules are different for each state appellate court. The time limit for perfecting a federal appeal is governed by FRAP and local rules of the circuit. Contact Counsel Press for clarification of the rules of the specific court to which you are taking the appeal.  close

A term is a period or session during which an appellate court will hear oral argument of appeals perfected for that specific term.  close

A Record on Appeal consists of all the original papers, exhibits, transcripts (if any), filed with the court of original jurisdiction.  close

The purpose of the Record on Appeal is to clearly inform the appellate court of the relevant facts adduced at the trial necessary for rendering a fair and accurate appellate decision. These relevant facts are found from the proceedings below in the pleadings, motions, transcripts, exhibits, judgments, orders and decisions or opinions.  close

An Appendix consists of only such parts of the Record on Appeal as are essential to the issues being raised in the appeal.  close

The purpose of the Appendix is to emphasize only those portions of the record that the appellant and respondent/appellate wish to bring to the court's attention.  close

The Record on Appeal will include all the documents that were before the trial court at the time that the Order/Judgment was rendered. A Record on Appeal from a Final Order or Judgment will include the Notice of Appeal; the Order/Judgment appealed from, any Memorandum Decision/Opinion, the main pleadings, the trial transcript and trial exhibits. If the appeal is interlocutory, the Record on Appeal will include the Notice of Appeal, the Order/Judgment appealed from, any Memorandum Decision/Opinion, the motion with supporting affidavits, affirmations, declarations and any exhibits thereto, opposing affidavits, affirmations and declarations and any exhibits thereto and any reply affidavits, affirmations or declarations and transcript of oral argument (if any). Counsel is cautioned to read the rules governing proper sequencing of documents in the Record on Appeal.  close

Each court mandates that certain documents must be included in the appendix. This varies from state to state and from circuit to circuit. But in most instances these include the Notice of Appeal, the Order/Judgment appealed from, any Memorandum Decision/Opinion written in conjunction with the order appealed from, as well as any excerpts of the papers, transcripts, exhibits, pleadings that the parties wish to bring to the court's attention. Counsel is cautioned to read the rules governing proper sequencing of documents in the Appendix.  close

The appellate court rules for the jurisdiction dictate the organization and sequence of the record or appendix. The rules vary from state to state and from circuit to circuit. Counsel Press is familiar with the procedures for each court and will organize your documents properly, create tables of contents, draft necessary stipulations, statements or certifications, paginate, create page headings (if required by the rules), draft covers for the record/appendix and brief, all in accordance to the rules of the specific court in which the appeal is being filed.  close

The court requirements vary with respect to page limitations. Some courts have page limits, while others have word count limitations or a limitation on the number of lines in a brief. Call Counsel Press for clarification of the rules of the specific court to which you are taking the appeal.  close

A proportional typeface adjusts the amount of space assigned to each letter based upon the width and height of the letter as well as the kerning or space between each letter within a word. For example in times roman a capital T will take up more space than a lower case i and the word processing system will assign a different amount of white space (kerning or tracking between the T and the i). On the other hand, a non-proportional typeface such as courier will assign the same amount of space between each letter irrespective of the width or height of the letter.  close

Font and typeface mean the same thing. It is an assortment or set of type that is all of one size and style. Type size on the other hand is the height and width assigned to each letter. So when the rules of a particular court refer to Times Roman 14 point, it means the font used shall be Times Roman while the type size shall not be less than 14 points.  close

The general rules for handling appeals are covered by FRAP. (Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure). However, the twelve circuit courts and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (patent and trademark cases) have local rules that supersede FRAP. In the absence of a local rule, one should follow FRAP. Counsel is cautioned to read the IOP's (internal operating procedures) of the circuit to which he/she is appealing, since the internal operating procedure may in fact differ from the FRAP. Call Counsel Press for clarification of the rules of the specific court to which you are taking the appeal.  close

Many courts across the country accept CD-ROM filings, which are also called companion briefs. As of today, courts that accept CD-ROM filings also insist that the requisite number of paper copies for the Brief, Record or Appendix still be filed. Federal and state courts are continuously enacting rules which allow for filing of companion briefs. Besides its compact format, one CD-ROM can, in most instances, hold all the briefs filed in the case along with the documents contained in the appendix or record. This is a particularly effective tool when Briefs and Records or Appendices have been hyperlinked. Contact cdrom@counselpress.com to receive a demonstration disk.  close

If you look at the numbers alone, your chances appear to be limited since the Court denies the vast majority of cases for review. In fact, statistics show that you have less than a one percent chance of having your petition granted. However, these numbers do not tell the whole story. They include thousands and thousands of frivolous petitions - most filed by inmates at various penal institutions. Accordingly, if you remove the frivolous petitions and only look at the ones that are filed with "legitimate issues," then the statistical odds improve to about 10 percent. But that also is not the whole story because roughly one-half of the cases heard by the Court involve federal or state issues and/or constitutional, civil rights or criminal matters. So if your case involves a civil business issue your odds are better than at first glance but still not good. However, you never can tell when lightning will strike and we, at Counsel Press, do prepare a very substantial number of briefs on the merits. When we are discussing "legitimate issues," you should keep in mind that we are not necessarily referring to issues of world shattering import because many of the cases taken by the Court deal with seemingly pedestrian matters. And it goes without saying that all "legitimate issues" are not equal and some have a greater chance of being heard than others.  close

A petition must be filed within 90 days of the date of the entry of the judgment sought to be reviewed but, if: a) a timely petition for rehearing or review has been filed by any party; or b) the lower court either appropriately entertains an untimely petition for rehearing or sua sponte considers rehearing, then the 90 day period runs for all parties from either the denial or, if granted, the subsequent decision. (See Rule 13) N.B. It is 90 days and not 3 months; the date of any mandate does not enter into the calculation; and this period is jurisdictional in all civil cases.  close

Extensions of time (up to 60 days) are covered by Rules 30.2, 22, 33.2 and 34. It depends not only upon your reasons and the timing of the request but also what area of the country your case is coming from and who is the sitting Justice for that area. The degree of difficulty in obtaining an extension varies from Justice to Justice and appears to range from virtually impossible with some to generally not a major problem with others. For a further discussion and some suggestions as to form, you may wish to contact us.  close

The cost of petitions vary dramatically and depend primarily upon the length of the appendix. However, we are able at the outset to provide an accurate estimate of the total printing costs once we have had an opportunity to speak with one of the lawyers involved in the preparation of the petition. We find it is generally not helpful to have a support staff call and ask the cost of a petition, as more often than not there are legal decisions that have to be discussed with regards to determining which documents to include, which will affect costs.  close

Rule 14 governs the content of your appendix. It mandates that all relevant decisions, findings of fact and conclusions of law must be included. Besides that you also have the option to include any material you believe essential to the understanding of your petition. Therefore, the appendix is only limited by the record below and you become the ultimate arbiter of what goes into it. As a general rule, we recommend that you include only what is required. If the Court is not interested in the area of the law covered by your petition, it will certainly not be interested in the underlying facts. The Court will also assume what you have said is correct and if the respondent says otherwise you always have a reply brief in which to include whatever supporting documents you feel are necessary. And finally, the Court has the authority (which it does exercise) to call up the record from the court below which enables you to cite or quote from anything in the record without including it in your appendix.(Rule 12.7) But the decision is always yours. Our goal is simply to help minimize your cost without sacrificing the strength of your legal arguments.  close

We always have samples available of recent petitions we have worked on which the Court has granted cert. We also have samples of Cross Petitions and Conditional Cross Petitions, as well as just about any other document you can think of. Since the issues and facts in your case will no doubt be different, the primary benefit of a good sample is in its form -- to see how a petition has been properly laid out. We do not provide legal advice, but we will review your draft petition and point out any problems we may see. And we are also available to discuss tactics and strategy. N.B. The most important element of your petition is the "Questions Presented" page.  close

The vast majority of petitions are ruled upon within 3 to 12 weeks of docketing. Initially, the respondent controls the timing. For instance, the respondent could waive filing an opposition brief upon receipt of the petition in which event your petition would be circulated immediately and the Court might rule as quickly as within 3 weeks. On the other hand, the respondent could ask for an extension of 30 days (added to the initial 30 day period) to put in an opposition brief so that a decision by the Court could be put off for at least 12 weeks from the docketing date. Once circulated, most petitions are disposed of within 2 1/2 weeks. However, some languish for months for a variety of reasons. In the final analysis, it is their Court and their ball.  close

The Counsel Press Supreme Court team offers our clients expert service from petition to briefing on the merits. All the Counsel Press Supreme Court staff have at least 15 years experience. At Counsel Press, you will always work with bright, savvy, attorneys and paralegals that focus exclusively on United States Supreme Court procedure.

The Supreme Court has some ambiguous rules, some misleading rules and even some unwritten rules. We not only know what the rules mean, but also how the Court interprets and enforces the rules. Counsel Press knows what must be done and when.

When asked a question, others will suggest you call a clerk. We tell you the answer.  close

The Portal is a secure area of our web site that allows clients to view the status of a case, upload and download files and get other information about each case we have helped you with.  close

Please contact any of our Counsel Press sales persons. They can initiate the process.  close