Rex Heinke and Pratik Shah Quoted by Law360 on Common SCOTUS Petitioner Errors
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Law360, for its article “5 Ways To Botch A Supreme Court Petition,” quoted Akin Gump Supreme Court and appellate practice co-heads Rex Heinke and Pratik Shah on common errors made by attorneys petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.
The article notes that one of the mistakes made is overloading a petition with facts. Heinke said, “The focus of the cert petition has to be on why the Supreme Court should grant review, not why the decision below was wrong.” He added that the plea should showcase the fundamental legal questions that were unanswered by the lower court or contradicted by governing Supreme Court precedent.
With regard to exaggerating splits among the circuit courts, Shah said, “As soon as you start entering down the territory of making it seem too messy … then it starts becoming a fact issue.” He also recommended focusing on jurisdictional questions such as “clean” circuit splits and added, “To me that is the first and foremost goal of anything.”
