Required Contents of a Petition for Certiorari

In case you are disgruntled with the ruling in a state court case, you always have the right to get the ‘arbitrary’ decision reviewed by none other than the Supreme Court itself.

While you exercise your legal right, actually granting the petition and making it a writ of certiorari is a matter solely left to judicial discretion! Therefore, the counsel representing your interests has to carefully prepare the brief keeping the Supreme Court requirements in mind.

Following is a brief look at the major contents of a certiorari writ as set forth in Supreme Court Rule 14:

• The questions presented for review form the first part of the brief and do not count towards the word limit. This section is of prime importance because in case the Court decides to grant the writ of certiorari, it will limit its consideration only to the questions presented in the petition. Present concrete (not abstract or convoluted) questions that you want the Supreme Court to decide on. Keep them brief and related to the case.
• List of all parties to the proceedings in the court whose judgment is sought to be reviewed.
• Table of contents and table of cited authorities, if required.
• Citations of the reports of opinions and orders entered in the case by courts.
• The basis for jurisdiction.
• Verbatim text and citation of constitutional provisions, treaties, statutes, ordinances and regulations involved in the case. Lengthy ones can be relegated to the appendix (does not count in word limit).
• Statement of the case that sets out facts material to consideration of the questions presented for review. This is an opportunity to emphasize why the questions are relevant to the case. The requirements vary depending on whether the case on which review is sought is coming from a state court or a federal one. Provide factual information on how the federal issue was raised and decided in the lower courts as well as the basis for Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to review the judgment.
• The final section of the petition presents significant reasons why the case is worthy of granting a writ of certiorari. You can use the heading - "REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT" or "ARGUMENT". The accent is not on stating that your viewpoint is correct, but more on convincing the Supreme Court that it needs to decide whether you are correct! You can make multiple sub-divisions outlining the merits of the issue and its significance or national importance; the conflict between the appellate courts or how the ruling conflicts with a precedent decision; the wrong done by the lower court and so on.
• The conclusion is straightforward and limited to the disposition expected from the Court.

All the above contents should appear in the exact order specified. Even the fonts, formatting and type of paper is stringently set out.

The petition is followed by an appendix listing (again in specified order) similar occurrences on which the court has ruled as well as legal theories and cases that conflict with the judgment to be reviewed.

A leading requirement is that the certiorari writ should always be brief, clear and accurate. It should be limited to 9000 words and 30 pages (or even lesser), without going into unnecessary detail at any point. Avoid being repetitive or argumentative at all costs.

If you would like to add anything to the required contents of a petition for writ of certiorari, please elaborate in the comments section below.

The author, Petar Pattric, has a keen interest in learning the terms and tactics of law and over the years has gained critical insight into its functioning.