PETITION FOR REVIEW PRACTICE BEFORE THE SUPREME · PDF filePETITION FOR REVIEW PRACTICE . BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS . DOUGLAS W. ALEXANDER . Alexander Dubose & Townsend LLP

PETITION FOR REVIEW PRACTICE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS

DOUGLAS W. ALEXANDER Alexander Dubose & Townsend LLP

515 Congress Ave., Suite 2350 Austin, Texas 78701

(512) 482-9301 dalexander@adtappellate.com

LORI MASON

Cooley Godward LLP Five Palo Alto Square 3000 El Camino Real

Palo Alto, California 94306 (650) 843-5000

lmason@cooley.com

State Bar of Texas PRACTICE BEFORE

THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT April 12, 2013

Austin

CHAPTER 16

2013 by Douglas W. Alexander and Lori Mason.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Douglas W. Alexander is a founding partner in the Austin office of Alexander Dubose & Townsend LLP. Doug has a statewide appellate practice with particular expertise before the Supreme Court of Texas. He also has an active amicus practice before that court. Doug is a former Chair of the Appellate Section Council of the State Bar of Texas. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, a member of the Civil Appellate Law Examination Commission of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and a law clerk to the Honorable John R. Brown, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Doug is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and is board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Lori Mason is a partner with the California-based firm of Cooley Godward LLP, where her practice centers on appellate litigation. She received her B.A., with highest honors, from the University of Texas. She received her J.D., with high honors, from the University of Texas School of Law, where she was Executive Editor of the Texas Law Review, earned membership in the Order of the Coif, and was named Keeper of the Peregrinus for the Chancellors Honor Society. Lori served as a briefing attorney to the Honorable Priscilla R. Owen of the Supreme Court of Texas and as a law clerk to the Honorable Fortunato P. Benavides of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Justice Nathan L. Hecht, former Chief Justice Thomas Phillips, and former Justices Craig T. Enoch, Priscilla R. Owen, James A. Baker, Deborah Hankinson, John Cornyn, Rose Spector, Greg Abbott, and Raul A. Gonzalez. The authors also wish to recognize the invaluable assistance from the following present and former Court staff members, whose present or former position(s) with the Court are denoted parenthetically: Andrew Weber (Clerk); Christopher A. Griesel (Procedural Rules Attorney), Robert H. Pemberton (Procedural Rules Attorney); Lee Parsley (Procedural Rules Attorney); Elizabeth A. Saunders (Chief Deputy Clerk); Nadine Schneider (Administrative Assistant); Spikes Kangerga, (Staff Attorney to Chief Justice Phillips); Bill Hill (Staff Attorney for Justice Jefferson and Justice Gonzalez); Sylvia Herrera (Staff Attorney to Justice Hecht); Elana Einhorn (Staff Attorney to Justice Hankinson); Chip Orr, (Staff Attorney to Justice Enoch); Ginger Rodd (Staff Attorney to Justice ONeill); Dana Livingston Cobb (Staff Attorney to Justice Owen); Darin Darby (Staff Attorney to Justice Baker); Rocky Rhodes (Staff Attorney to Justice Abbott); and Matthew Ploeger (Law Clerk to Justice Hecht). For recent updates to this paper, special thanks are due Zachary Bowman, who served as a law clerk to Justice Paul W. Green at the Supreme Court of Texas from 2010-2011. Zach prepared the annotated template of the Courts study memo, and helped in updating the paper, particularly as regards the study memo process. Special thanks also to Michael A. Heidler, an appellate attorney in the Austin office of Vinson & Elkins LLP, who updated the paper in 2012. Michael focused in particular on addressing the new rules regarding electronic filing. The authors also borrowed from a number of excellent papers on petition for review practice which are listed in the Bibliography. The views expressed in this article are ultimately those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Supreme Court or the individual Justices.

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Petition for Review Practice Before the Supreme Court of Texas Chapter 16

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTERNAL PROCEDURES ................................................................................................................ 1 A. Routing of Petitions...................................................................................................................... 1 B. Action on PetitionsConveyor Belt System ................................................................................. 2 C. Pink, Purple, and Yellow Vote Sheets .................................................................................... 2

1. Pink Vote Sheet .................................................................................................................... 2 2. Purple Vote Sheet.................................................................................................................. 2 3. Yellow Vote Sheet ................................................................................................................ 2

D. Study Memo Procedure and Request for Full Briefing on the Merits ................................................. 3 E. Votes Required for Specific Actions ............................................................................................... 4 F. Odds of the Court Taking Specific Actions ...................................................................................... 4 G. CaseMail .................................................................................................................................... 4

II. GOAL OF THE PETITION.................................................................................................................. 5 A. Demonstrating Substantial Importance ............................................................................................ 5 B. Grabbing the Courts Attentionthe Hook ................................................................................... 5

III. BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF AN EFFECTIVE PETITION ...................................................................... 5

IV. BASIC REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................................... 6 A. Formatting .................................................................................................................................. 6

1. Margins ............................................................................................................................... 6 2. Spacing................................................................................................................................ 6 3. Font .................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Record Citations ................................................................................................................... 6 5. Footnotes ............................................................................................................................. 6 6. Word Limitations .................................................................................................................. 6

B. Filing ......................................................................................................................................... 7 1. The Transition to Electronic Filing........................................................................................... 7 2. Preparing an Electronic Brief .................................................................................................. 7 3. Electronic Filing ................................................................................................................... 7 4. Electronic Service ................................................................................................................. 7 5. Hard copies .......................................................................................................................... 7 6. Fees .................................................................................................................................... 8

C. Deadlines.................................................................................................................................... 8 D. Motions to Extend Time (METs) ................................................................................................. 9 E. Amendment ................................................................................................................................ 9

V. ANATOMY OF PETITION.................................................................................................................. 9 A. Cover of Petition.........................................................................................................................10 B. Preliminary Sections....................................................................................................................10

1. Identity of Parties and Counsel ...............................................................................................10 2. Table of Contents .................................................................................................................11 3. Index of Authorities..............................................................................................................11 4. Statement of the Case............................................................................................................11 5. Statement of Jurisdi