Amici are continuing to roll in with the number of “friends of the court” ready to edge in and have their opinion heard in the matter increasing by the hour. By last count, 136 amicus briefs have already been filed taking stands both for and against the healthcare reform policies of the Obama administration, more specifically on the debate around the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. According to estimates of court clerks, the pile of amici is already higher than 2 ft.
Experts argue that the costs of the amicus briefs filed in this single case may range between four to eight million dollars. That’s quite a show, by any standards, and the nation is waiting for the showdown.
The opinions and standpoints argued in the amicus briefs are in many instances quite varied and dissimilar, though obviously, there is a large pile of similar arguments.
A 26-page affair from the Montana Shooting Sports Association is sporty enough to shoot spot on the target: They argue the federal government should not intrude into state affairs.
A 36-page brief from ex Solicitor General, Ted Olson is matched by a similar one by another former Solicitor General, Walter Dellinger. A coalition of more than 100 organizations including famous economists and Nobel Prize winners are also resting on the table.
In a dire situation where last year, at a Northwestern University Law School session, former justice John Paul Stevens complained of the judiciary beset by amici fatigue: ‘We could get along with fewer amicus briefs,” he said, the sheer number of amici allowed in the present case is surprising.
Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure provides the guidance for the admission of amicus briefs and says, “A brief of an amicus curiae may be filed only if accompanied by written consent of all parties, or by leave of court granted on motion or at the request of the court, except that consent or leave shall not be required when the brief is presented by the United States or an officer or agency thereof, or by a State, Territory or Commonwealth. The brief may be conditionally filed with the motion for leave. A motion for leave shall identify the interest of the applicant and shall state the reasons why a brief of an amicus curiae is desirable. Save as all parties otherwise consent, any amicus curiae shall file its brief within the time allowed the party whose position as to affirmance or reversal the amicus brief will support unless the court for cause shown shall grant leave for a later filing, in which event it shall specify within what period an opposing party may answer. A motion of an amicus curiae to participate in the oral argument will be granted only for extraordinary reasons.”
