SECOND EDITION-1954 RULES Jurisdiction, procedure, arguing and briefing techniques, For practice in the SUPREME COURT of the UNITED STATES ROBERT L. STERN of the Illinois, District of Columbia and New York Bars; and EUGENE GRESSMAN of the District of Columbia and Michigan Bars; formerly BNA BNA INCORPORATED WASHINGTON, D. C. S839 FIRST EDITION, Copyright May, 1950 BNA INCORPORATED WASHINGTON, D. C. Printed in US A. The first edition of this book appeared in June of 1950. On April 12, 1954, the Supreme Court promulgated Revised Rules effective July 1, 1954. The former Rules have been completely superseded. There have been significant changes in the Rules governing all important types of cases-certiorari, appeals, original cases, extraordinary writs. As a result of the changes in the Rules, revision of this book was necessary if it is to be of use to the legal profession. Substantial portions have been rewritten, and minor changes have been made throughout. In addition to the alterations required by the revision of the Rules, cases and other materials since 1950 have been examined and referred to in the pertinent portions of the book. As in the preparation of the first edition, the authors have had the complete cooperation of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Harold B. Willey; they cannot overstate their appreciation for his aid. The authors are also indebted to Colonel Frederick Bernays Wiener, Reporter to the Committee of the Court on the Revision of the Rules, and to Oscar H. Davis and Philip Elman of the Office of the Solicitor General, each of whom was good enough to examine the manuscript and to make helpful suggestions. June, 1954. Robert L. Stern AUTHORS' NOTE TO FIRST EDITION Not for over twenty years has there appeared a volume devoted to describing in detail the practice and procedure in the Supreme Court of the United States.1 In the intervening period, the governing statutes, the Court's own rules and the unwritten practices have been materially altered. The recent recodification of the pertinent statutory provisions in Titles 28 and 18 of the United States Code would seem to make this a particularly opportune time to present to the Bar a descriptive, and occasionally critical, analysis of the practice before the Court. This book is not, however, limited to practice and procedure in the narrow sense. It endeavors to inform the reader as to the principles of jurisdiction which determine whether a case can and should be taken to the Supreme Court, and as to the kinds of petitions for certiorari, jurisdictional statements, briefs, and oral arguments which are thought to be favored by the Court. The effort has been to set forth in a single volume which would be neither too expansive nor expensive, as close as possible to everything, outside of the field of substantive law, that a lawyer would want to know in handling a case in the Supreme Court. Although such a goal can obviously not be completely attained, it is hoped that this book has not fallen too far short. No work of this sort could be published with confidence as to its accuracy and usefulness without the assistance of the staff of the Court. The Office of the Clerk, Charles Elmore Cropley, has been especially patient, forbearing, and helpful, in response to numerous time-consuming inquiries. The authors are par 1 Robertson, Practice and Procedure in the Supreme Court of the United States (1929). |