SCOTUS: Behind the Curtain

Two former U.S. Supreme Court law clerks, Mark Hiller and Erik Zimmerman, provided insights on the work of the U.S. Supreme Court. They discussed, as far as obligations of confidentiality allow, the Court’s internal processes for choosing and deciding its cases. The audience also learned effective strategies for securing Supreme Court review and for winning on the merits. Specific topics included:

• Cert petitions: How the Court handles and decides cert petitions, and techniques for preparing an effective petition.
• The merits: The Court’s approach to briefs, oral argument, and opinions, and how to advocate effectively at the merits stage.
• The emergency, or “shadow,” docket: The recent growth in filings that ask the Court for emergency relief, how the Court has responded, and strategies for seeking emergency relief.