Last week we reviewed the data for how long party briefing typically took in civil cases at the Supreme Court.  This week, we’re looking at the next guideposts.  The Supreme Court accepts additional briefs in nearly all its civil cases: amicus briefs; responses to amicus briefs; and supplemental briefs.  How long does extra briefing typically take?

In 1990, the average civil case took 218.57 days from the reply brief to the final extra brief.  That number quickly leveled out: 110.31 days (1991), 115.62 days (1992) , 127.45 days (1993), 141.77 days (1994) and 115 days (1995).  From there it fell further: 69.7 days (1996), 76.54 days (1997), 77.43 days (1998), 76.75 days (1999).

Between 2000 and 2003, the average lag time remained about the same: 127.67 days in 2000, 112.69 days in 2001, 99.74 days in 2002, 100.23 days in 2003.  Then it jumped 20 to 30 days: 142.32 days in 2004, 142.28 days in 2005, 114.1 days in 2006, 201.02 days in 2007, 148.19 days in 2008 and 142.79 days in 2009.

The average supplemental briefing period increased further from 2010 to now.  In 2010, the average was 177.78 days.  It fell to 152.4 days in 2011, 268.35 days in 2012.  The average fell to 123.86 days in 2013 before increasing to 231.95 days in 2014 and 221.36 days in 2015.  The average fell to 139.68 days in 2016 and 81.08 days in 2017 before increasing to 272.1 days in 2018.  The average period so far this year is 165.15 days.

Table 1145 reports the entire thirty years of data in a single graph.  The table reflects that although average lag time for supplemental briefing isn’t a stable number from one year to the next, the multi-year averages have increased steadily across the past thirty years.  Between 1990 and 1999, civil cases averaged 112.91 days from the filing of the reply brief to the final amicus or supplemental brief.  Between 2000 and 2009, the average rose to 133.1 days.  From 2010 to 2019, the average has increased to 183.37 days.

Join us back here tomorrow as we review the data for the average lag time from the end of briefing to oral argument.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Don DeBold (no changes).