Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Amicus Curiae Briefs

In Fry v. Exelon Corporation Cash Balance Pension Plan (08-1135), Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Easterbrook, in chambers, explained for the benefit of the bar the process by which the Seventh Circuit reviews motions for rehearing and rehearing en banc and the deadlines for the filing of amicus curiae briefs.

Someone who wants to file as amicus curiae in support of a petition for rehearing, or rehearing en banc, must use the same schedule as the petitioner. A potential amicus who needs extra time should ask the litigant to seek an extension from the court and defer filing the petition. AARP and the Pension Rights Center did not do this. Their submission was properly returned as untimely. The court has discretion to accept an untimely filing when the value of the potential amicus brief justifies the inconvenience of requiring the judges to review a case multiple times, but in my judgment this brief did not possess that exceptional quality.

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