Amicus Curiae Briefs: The Court's Perspective

Abstract

Amicus briefs can affect the perspective from which an appellate court views a case by showing how the decision is important to others not party to the case, by providing additional information and expertise that parties may not have, and by developing legal arguments that parties sometimes cannot. Whereas most studies of amicus curiae briefs focus on the influence of these third-party briefs on decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, this article considers amicus curiae briefs in state appellate courts. Considering amicus briefs from this perspective promises to benefit both courts, because they can encourage the type of amicus briefs they find most helpful, and the organizations that file them, because they will have better information on what appellate courts look for in amicus briefs. How useful are amicus briefs to state courts of last resort? Most respondents, chief justices and appellate court clerks from the courts of last resort in thirty-nine states, viewed amicus briefs as a benefit but think they could be made more useful by being consolidated with other briefs where possible and by focusing on providing new information and implications of decisions not provided by the parties.