If you’re the attorney who will argue a case that is fully briefed in the Supreme Court and you have a time when you really don’t want the court to schedule oral argument, do two things. First, check the court calendar to see whether the bad date falls on a day when the court hears oral argument. Second, if there is a potential scheduling conflict, let the court know quickly and, by all means, before the court puts your case on calendar.
This was the advice we gave last month.
Without timely notice, you’re likely to be out of luck, as one attorney recently learned. In one case on the January calendar, the court’s docket shows counsel requested — just 5 days after the case was put on calendar — that the court reschedule the oral argument for a different day. The court denied the request the day after it was filed.
