Supreme Court Takes New Aim at Unwritten Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its newest guidance in its ongoing effort to formalize previously unwritten rules for lawyers on its procedures.

The latest installment concerns scheduling at the justices’ private conferences and requests for Supreme Court review, known as petitions for certiorari or cert-stage petitions.

In October, the justices formalized informal rules relating to amicus, or briefs from outside parties.

The new guidance “does not appear to change any existing practices,” said Supreme Court practitioner and McDermott Will & Emery partner Paul Hughes.

It looks like this guidance, like the amicus one, “is intended primarily to make known ...