Rule 10. Considerations Governing Review on 
         Certiorari 

   Review on a writ of certiorari is not a matter of right, but 
of judicial discretion. A petition for a writ of certiorari will 
be granted only for compelling reasons. The following, al- 
though neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's 
discretion, indicate the character of the reasons the Court 
considers: 

   (a) a United States court of appeals has entered a deci- 
sion in conflict with the decision of another United 
States court of appeals on the same important matter; 
has decided an important federal question in a way that 
conflicts with a decision by a state court of last resort; 
or has so far departed from the accepted and usual 
course of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a de- 
parture by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of 
this Court's supervisory power; 
   (b) a state court of last resort has decided an impor- 
tant federal question in a way that conflicts with the 
decision of another state court of last resort or of a 
United States court of appeals; 
   (c) a state court or a United States court of appeals 
has decided an important question of federal law that 
has not been, but should be, settled by this Court, or 
has decided an important federal question in a way that 
conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court. 

A petition for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the 
asserted error consists of erroneous factual findings or the 
misapplication of a properly stated rule of law. 

Rule 11. Certiorari to a United States Court of Appeals 
         Before Judgment 

   A petition for a writ of certiorari to review a case pending 
in a United States court of appeals, before judgment is en- 
tered in that court, will be granted only upon a showing that 
the case is of such imperative public importance as to justify 
deviation from normal appellate practice and to require im- 
mediate determination in this Court. See 28 U. S. C. 
§ 2101(e). 

Rule 12. Review on Certiorari: How Sought; Parties 

1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Rule, the peti- 
tioner shall file 40 copies of a petition for a writ of certiorari, 
prepared as required by Rule 33.1, and shall pay the Rule 
38(a) docket fee. 

2. A petitioner proceeding in forma pauperis under Rule 
39 shall file an original and 10 copies of a petition for a writ 
of certiorari prepared as required by Rule 33.2, together 
with an original and 10 copies of the motion for leave to 
proceed in forma pauperis. A copy of the motion shall pre- 
cede and be attached to each copy of the petition. An in- 
mate confined in an institution, if proceeding in forma pau- 
peris and not represented by counsel, need file only an 
original petition and motion. 

3. Whether prepared under Rule 33.1 or Rule 33.2, the 
petition shall comply in all respects with Rule 14 and shall 
be submitted with proof of service as required by Rule 29. 
The case then will be placed on the docket. It is the peti- 
tioner's duty to notify all respondents promptly, on a form 
supplied by the Clerk, of the date of filing, the date the case 
was placed on the docket, and the docket number of the case. 
The notice shall be served as required by Rule 29. 

4. Parties interested jointly, severally, or otherwise in a 
judgment may petition separately for a writ of certiorari; or 
any two or more may join in a petition. A party not shown 
on the petition as joined therein at the time the petition is 
filed may not later join in that petition. When two or more 
judgments are sought to be reviewed on a writ of certiorari 
to the same court and involve identical or closely related 
questions, a single petition for a writ of certiorari covering 
all the judgments suffices. A petition for a writ of certiorari 
may not be joined with any other pleading, except that any 
motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis shall be 
attached. 

5. No more than 30 days after a case has been placed on 
the docket, a respondent seeking to file a conditional cross- 
petition (i. e., a cross-petition that otherwise would be un- 
timely) shall file, with proof of service as required by Rule 
29, 40 copies of the cross-petition prepared as required by 
Rule 33.1, except that a cross-petitioner proceeding in forma 
pauperis under Rule 39 shall comply with Rule 12.2. The 
cross-petition shall comply in all respects with this Rule and 
Rule 14, except that material already reproduced in the ap- 
pendix to the opening petition need not be reproduced again. 
A cross-petitioning respondent shall pay the Rule 38(a) 
docket fee or submit a motion for leave to proceed in forma 
pauperis. The cover of the cross-petition shall indicate 
clearly that it is a conditional cross-petition. The cross-peti- 
tion then will be placed on the docket, subject to the provi- 
sions of Rule 13.4. It is the cross-petitioner's duty to notify 
all cross-respondents promptly, on a form supplied by the 
Clerk, of the date of filing, the date the cross-petition was 
placed on the docket, and the docket number of the cross- 
petition. The notice shall be served as required by Rule 29. 
A cross-petition for a writ of certiorari may not be joined 
with any other pleading, except that any motion for leave to 
proceed in forma pauperis shall be attached. The time to 
file a conditional cross-petition will not be extended. 

6. All parties to the proceeding in the court whose judg- 
ment is sought to be reviewed are deemed parties entitled 
to file documents in this Court, unless the petitioner notifies 
the Clerk of this Court in writing of the petitioner's belief 
that one or more of the parties below have no interest in the 
outcome of the petition. A copy of such notice shall be 
served as required by Rule 29 on all parties to the proceed- 
ing below. A party noted as no longer interested may re- 
main a party by notifying the Clerk promptly, with service 
on the other parties, of an intention to remain a party. All 
parties other than the petitioner are considered respondents, 
but any respondent who supports the position of a petitioner 
shall meet the petitioner's time schedule for filing docu- 
ments, except that a response supporting the petition shall 
be filed within 20 days after the case is placed on the docket, 
and that time will not be extended. Parties who file no doc- 
ument will not qualify for any relief from this Court. 

7. The clerk of the court having possession of the record 
shall keep it until notified by the Clerk of this Court to cer- 
tify and transmit it. In any document filed with this Court, 
a party may cite or quote from the record, even if it has 
not been transmitted to this Court. When requested by the 
Clerk of this Court to certify and transmit the record, or any 
part of it, the clerk of the court having possession of the 
record shall number the documents to be certified and shall 
transmit therewith a numbered list specifically identifying 
each document transmitted. If the record, or stipulated por- 
tions, have been printed for the use of the court below, that 
printed record, plus the proceedings in the court below, may 
be certified as the record unless one of the parties or the 
Clerk of this Court requests otherwise. The record may 
consist of certified copies, but if the lower court is of the 
view that original documents of any kind should be seen by 
this Court, that court may provide by order for the trans- 
port, safekeeping, and return of such originals. 

Rule 13. Review on Certiorari: Time for Petitioning 

1. Unless otherwise provided by law, a petition for a writ 
of certiorari to review a judgment in any case, civil or crimi- 
nal, entered by a state court of last resort or a United States 
court of appeals (including the United States Court of Ap- 
peals for the Armed Forces) is timely when it is filed with 
the Clerk of this Court within 90 days after entry of the 
judgment. A petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review 
of a judgment of a lower state court that is subject to discre- 
tionary review by the state court of last resort is timely 
when it is filed with the Clerk within 90 days after entry of 
the order denying discretionary review. 

2. The Clerk will not file any petition for a writ of certio- 
rari that is jurisdictionally out of time. See, e. g., 28 
U. S. C. § 2101(c). 

3. The time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari runs 
from the date of entry of the judgment or order sought to be 
reviewed, and not from the issuance date of the mandate (or 
its equivalent under local practice). But if a petition for re- 
hearing is timely filed in the lower court by any party, the 
time to file the petition for a writ of certiorari for all parties 
(whether or not they requested rehearing or joined in the 
petition for rehearing) runs from the date of the denial of 
the petition for rehearing or, if the petition for rehearing is 
granted, the subsequent entry of judgment. 

4. A cross-petition for a writ of certiorari is timely when 
it is filed with the Clerk as provided in paragraphs 1, 3, and 
5 of this Rule, or in Rule 12.5. However, a conditional cross- 
petition (which except for Rule 12.5 would be untimely) will 
not be granted unless another party's timely petition for a 
writ of certiorari is granted. 

5. For good cause, a Justice may extend the time to file a
petition for a writ of certiorari for a period not exceeding 60
days. An application to extend the time to file shall set out
the basis for jurisdiction in this Court, identify the judgment
sought to be reviewed, include a copy of the opinion and any
order respecting rehearing, and set out specific reasons why
an extension of time is justified. The application must be
filed with the Clerk at least 10 days before the date the petition
is due, except in extraordinary circumstances.  For 
the time and manner of presenting the application, see Rules 
21, 22, 30, and 33.2. An application to extend the time to 
file a petition for a writ of certiorari is not favored. 

Rule 14. Content of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari 

1. A petition for a writ of certiorari shall contain, in the 
order indicated: 
   (a) The questions presented for review, expressed con- 
cisely in relation to the circumstances of the case, without 
unnecessary detail. The questions should be short and 
should not be argumentative or repetitive. If the petitioner 
or respondent is under a death sentence that may be affected 
by the disposition of the petition, the notation "capital case" 
shall precede the questions presented. The questions shall 
be set out on the first page following the cover, and no other 
information may appear on that page. The statement of any 
question presented is deemed to comprise every subsidiary 
question fairly included therein. Only the questions set out 
in the petition, or fairly included therein, will be considered 
by the Court. 
   (b) A list of all parties to the proceeding in the court 
whose judgment is sought to be reviewed (unless the caption 
of the case contains the names of all the parties), and a corpo- 
rate disclosure statement as required by Rule 29.6. 
   (c) If the petition exceeds five pages, a table of contents 
and a table of cited authorities. 
   (d) Citations of the official and unofficial reports of the 
opinions and orders entered in the case by courts or adminis- 
trative agencies.
   (e) A concise statement of the basis for jurisdiction in this 
Court, showing: 

   (i) the date the judgment or order sought to be re- 
viewed was entered (and, if applicable, a statement that 
the petition is filed under this Court's Rule 11); 
   (ii) the date of any order respecting rehearing, and 
the date and terms of any order granting an extension 
of time to file the petition for a writ of certiorari; 
   (iii) express reliance on Rule 12.5, when a cross-peti- 
tion for a writ of certiorari is filed under that Rule, and 
the date of docketing of the petition for a writ of certio- 
rari in connection with which the cross-petition is filed; 
   (iv) the statutory provision believed to confer on this 
Court jurisdiction to review on a writ of certiorari the 
judgment or order in question; and 
   (v) if applicable, a statement that the notifications re- 
quired by Rule 29.4(b) or (c) have been made. 

   (f) The constitutional provisions, treaties, statutes, ordi- 
nances, and regulations involved in the case, set out verba- 
tim with appropriate citation. If the provisions involved are 
lengthy, their citation alone suffices at this point, and their 
pertinent text shall be set out in the appendix referred to in 
subparagraph 1(i). 
   (g) A concise statement of the case setting out the facts 
material to consideration of the questions presented, and also 
containing the following: 

   (i) If review of a state-court judgment is sought, speci- 
fication of the stage in the proceedings, both in the court 
of first instance and in the appellate courts, when the 
federal questions sought to be reviewed were raised; the 
method or manner of raising them and the way in which 
they were passed on by those courts; and pertinent quo- 
tations of specific portions of the record or summary 
thereof, with specific reference to the places in the rec- 
ord where the matter appears (e. g., court opinion, ruling 
on exception, portion of court's charge and exception 
thereto, assignment of error), so as to show that the fed- 
eral question was timely and properly raised and that 
this Court has jurisdiction to review the judgment on a 
writ of certiorari. When the portions of the record re- 
lied on under this subparagraph are voluminous, they 
shall be included in the appendix referred to in subpara- 
graph 1(i). 
   (ii) If review of a judgment of a United States court 
of appeals is sought, the basis for federal jurisdiction in 
the court of first instance. 

   (h) A direct and concise argument amplifying the reasons 
relied on for allowance of the writ. 
See Rule 10. 
   (i) An appendix containing, in the order indicated: 

   (i) the opinions, orders, findings of fact, and conclu- 
sions of law, whether written or orally given and tran- 
scribed, entered in conjunction with the judgment 
sought to be reviewed; 
   (ii) any other relevant opinions, orders, findings of 
fact, and conclusions of law entered in the case by courts 
or administrative agencies, and, if reference thereto is 
necessary to ascertain the grounds of the judgment, of 
those in companion cases (each document shall include 
the caption showing the name of the issuing court or 
agency, the title and number of the case, and the date 
of entry); 
   (iii) any order on rehearing, including the caption 
showing the name of the issuing court, the title and 
number of the case, and the date of entry; 
   (iv) the judgment sought to be reviewed if the date 
of its entry is different from the date of the opinion 
or order required in sub-subparagraph (i) of this 
subparagraph; 
   (v) material required by subparagraphs 1(f ) or 
1(g)(i); and 
   (vi) any other material the petitioner believes essen- 
tial to understand the petition.

If the material required by this subparagraph is voluminous, 
it may be presented in a separate volume or volumes with 
appropriate covers. 

2. All contentions in support of a petition for a writ of 
certiorari shall be set out in the body of the petition, as pro- 
vided in subparagraph 1(h) of this Rule. No separate brief 
in support of a petition for a writ of certiorari may be filed, 
and the Clerk will not file any petition for a writ of certiorari 
to which any supporting brief is annexed or appended. 

3. A petition for a writ of certiorari should be stated 
briefly and in plain terms and may not exceed the page limi- 
tations specified in Rule 33. 

4. The failure of a petitioner to present with accuracy, 
brevity, and clarity whatever is essential to ready and ade- 
quate understanding of the points requiring consideration is 
sufficient reason for the Court to deny a petition. 

5. If the Clerk determines that a petition submitted timely 
and in good faith is in a form that does not comply with this 
Rule or with Rule 33 or Rule 34, the Clerk will return it 
with a letter indicating the deficiency. A corrected petition 
received no more than 60 days after the date of the Clerk's 
letter will be deemed timely. 

Rule 15. Briefs in Opposition; Reply Briefs; 
         Supplemental Briefs 

1. A brief in opposition to a petition for a writ of certiorari 
may be filed by the respondent in any case, but is not manda- 
tory except in a capital case, see Rule 14.1(a), or when or- 
dered by the Court. 

2. A brief in opposition should be stated briefly and in 
plain terms and may not exceed the page limitations speci- 
fied in Rule 33. In addition to presenting other arguments 
for denying the petition, the brief in opposition should ad- 
dress any perceived misstatement of fact or law in the peti- 
tion that bears on what issues properly would be before the 
Court if certiorari were granted. Counsel are admonished 
that they have an obligation to the Court to point out in the 
brief in opposition, and not later, any perceived misstatement 
made in the petition. Any objection to consideration of a 
question presented based on what occurred in the proceed- 
ings below, if the objection does not go to jurisdiction, may 
be deemed waived unless called to the Court's attention in 
the brief in opposition. 

3. Any brief in opposition shall be filed within 30 days 
after the case is placed on the docket, unless the time is ex- 
tended by the Court or a Justice, or by the Clerk under Rule 
30.4. Forty copies shall be filed, except that a respondent 
proceeding in forma pauperis under Rule 39, including an 
inmate of an institution, shall file the number of copies re- 
quired for a petition by such a person under Rule 12.2, to- 
gether with a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, 
a copy of which shall precede and be attached to each copy 
of the brief in opposition. If the petitioner is proceeding in 
forma pauperis, the respondent may file an original and 10 
copies of a brief in opposition prepared as required by Rule 
33.2. Whether prepared under Rule 33.1 or Rule 33.2, the 
brief in opposition shall comply with the requirements of 
Rule 24 governing a respondent's brief, except that no sum- 
mary of the argument is required. A brief in opposition 
may not be joined with any other pleading, except that any 
motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis shall be 
attached. The brief in opposition shall be served as re- 
quired by Rule 29. 

4. No motion by a respondent to dismiss a petition for a 
writ of certiorari may be filed. Any objections to the juris- 
diction of the Court to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari 
shall be included in the brief in opposition. 

5. The Clerk will distribute the petition to the Court for 
its consideration upon receiving an express waiver of the 
right to file a brief in opposition, or, if no waiver or brief in 
opposition is filed, upon the expiration of the time allowed 
for filing. If a brief in opposition is timely filed, the Clerk 
will distribute the petition, brief in opposition, and any reply 
brief to the Court for its consideration no less than 10 days 
after the brief in opposition is filed. 

6. Any petitioner may file a reply brief addressed to new 
points raised in the brief in opposition, but distribution and 
consideration by the Court under paragraph 5 of this Rule 
will not be deferred pending its receipt. Forty copies shall 
be filed, except that petitioner proceeding in forma pauperis 
under Rule 39, including an inmate of an institution, shall file 
the number of copies required for a petition by such a person 
under Rule 12.2. The reply brief shall be served as required 
by Rule 29. 

7. If a cross-petition for a writ of certiorari has been dock- 
eted, distribution of both petitions will be deferred until the 
cross-petition is due for distribution under this Rule. 

8. Any party may file a supplemental brief at any time 
while a petition for a writ of certiorari is pending, calling 
attention to new cases, new legislation, or other intervening 
matter not available at the time of the party's last filing. A 
supplemental brief shall be restricted to new matter and 
shall follow, insofar as applicable, the form for a brief in oppo- 
sition prescribed by this Rule. Forty copies shall be filed, 
except that a party proceeding in forma pauperis under 
Rule 39, including an inmate of an institution, shall file the 
number of copies required for a petition by such a person 
under Rule 12.2. The supplemental brief shall be served as 
required by Rule 29. 

Rule 16. Disposition of a Petition for a Writ of 
         Certiorari 


1. After considering the documents distributed under 
Rule 15, the Court will enter an appropriate order. The 
order may be a summary disposition on the merits. 

2. Whenever the Court grants a petition for a writ of cer- 
tiorari, the Clerk will prepare, sign, and enter an order to 
that effect and will notify forthwith counsel of record and 
the court whose judgment is to be reviewed. The case then 
will be scheduled for briefing and oral argument. If the rec- 
ord has not previously been filed in this Court, the Clerk will 
request the clerk of the court having possession of the record
to certify and transmit it. A formal writ will not issue un- 
less specially directed. 

3. Whenever the Court denies a petition for a writ of cer- 
tiorari, the Clerk will prepare, sign, and enter an order to 
that effect and will notify forthwith counsel of record and 
the court whose judgment was sought to be reviewed. The 
order of denial will not be suspended pending disposition of 
a petition for rehearing except by order of the Court or a 
Justice.