Pratik Shah Quoted by Bloomberg Law on SCOTUS Procedure

For its article “Long High Court Sessions Makes Advocates Happy, Stomachs Grumble,” Bloomberg Law quoted Akin Supreme Court & appellate practice head Pratik Shah. The article looks at the fact that, in this Term, 80% of U.S. Supreme Court arguments went over their scheduled time by nearly 30 minutes. The article offers as a reason the COVID-era move away from the traditional free-for-all format that was time limited to one that also includes a round robin.

The article notes that, previously, due to the strict time limits, the Justices would interrupt while advocates were answering questions posed from the bench. Bloomberg Law writes that, from the advocate’s perspective, it was harder to complete a thought or be responsive.

Pratik, who has argued 17 cases before the Court, said that, now, the Justices “are interrupting advocates' responses less frequently than before—presumably because they know they will have the opportunity to ask any burning questions during the bonus round, even if the allotted argument time runs out.” He said that this leads to a better process “even if stomachs might be grumbling by the end of the second case.”