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The Questions Presented section in a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari "[s]hould be the colorful fly that irresistibly leads to a strike." See Stern, Gressman, Shapiro & Geller, Supreme Court Practice, at 452 (8th ed. 2002) (quotations and citation omitted) ("SCP,__"). Unfortunately, many questions presented to the Supreme Court fail to attract, let alone garner a strike. At Cockle Law Brief Printing Company, we can review your Questions Presented section and assist you in crafting that colorful fly.
The Questions Presented section is "[t]he most important page in the entire [petition for a writ of certiorari] document." SCP, 452. As current Justice Antonin Scalia noted in his recently published book of appellate advocacy, the Questions Presented section "may well be the most important part of [an attorney's] brief." Scalia & Garner, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, at 83 (2008). Other Justices have suggested that a clear and concise presentation of the issues in the Questions Presented section and elsewhere is invaluable (for a Court wading through thousands of cert petitions a year), in separating the wheat from the chaff. See Garner, Supreme Court Interview, at http://www.lawprose.org/interviews/supreme_court.php. Because the Questions Presented section is the first item that the Court and its clerks view, its importance is paramount in gaining the Court's attention to your petition.
That is why Cockle has conducted extensive research on the formulation of questions that are presented to the Supreme Court. The Cockle staff compiled a database of guidelines and suggestions from the Justices and leading Supreme Court practitioners; those guidelines and suggestions are used in reviewing your Questions Presented. While there is no formulaic way to craft a question to the Court, the Cockle staff will review your question to confirm that it is presented in the best possible light.
