Supreme Court Overhauls Website

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DPW Legal attorney Jared Krukar
and his wife Erin pose for a self-portrait
in front of the Supreme Court of the United States
on a hot day in 2010.

Changes are in store for the website of the Supreme Court of the United States.  According to a post on the Court’s website, July 28 will bring a host of upgrades that include a new look, enhanced access to information, improved functionality, and two new columns: “‘Today at the Court,’ which will provide daily information about the Court’s calendar and visitor services, and ‘Did You know…’ which will highlight historical facts about the Court and objects and art from the Court’s collection.”

Check out the post on the Supreme Court website at www.supremecourt.gov for more detail, or just visit the new and improved website on Friday to explore!

Need help before the United States Supreme Court? DPW Legal’s experienced appellate attorneys can help. Call us at 813-778-5161.

SCOTUS Building Electronic FIling System

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There’s been some buzz online about the U.S. Supreme Court announcing that it is building an electronic filing system. Word came in the form of Chief Justice Roberts’ 2014 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary [.pdf].

The report states:

The Supreme Court is currently developing its own electronic filing system, which may be operational as soon as 2016. Once the system is implemented, all filings at the Court—petitions and responses to petitions, merits briefs, and all other types of motions and applications—will be available to the legal community and the public without cost on the Court’s website. Initially, the official filing of documents will continue to be on paper for all parties in all cases, with the electronic submission an additional requirement for parties represented by attorneys. Once the system has operated effectively for some time and the Supreme Court Bar has become well acquainted with it, the Court expects that electronic filing will be the official means for all parties represented by counsel, but paper filings will still be required.

So it sounds like electronic filing is on its way, but the major Supreme Court publishers don’t need to worry about their business models going down the tubes just yet. As long as paper copies are required in their current bound format, Supreme Court practitioners will need outside publishers.

And speaking of going down the tubes, the report is worth a read for its fascinating preamble discussing the history of pneumatic tubes (you know, those tube systems you use at the bank drive through?) at the Court. It’s an interesting discussion of the speed of change, or lack thereof, in the Federal court system.

Appeals 101: How do you pronounce certiorari?

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I never realized quite the level of controversy over the pronunciation of an important appellate term: certiorari. Check out this fascinating article that analyzes that the ways that various United States Supreme Court Justices pronounce the term [.pdf]. I’ve always thought it was pronounced ““ser-shee-or-RAHR-ee” and that appears to be the majority view of the Supreme Court justices as well. Still, when in doubt, follow Justice Ginsburg and just avoid saying the word all together!