Amicus Curiae

AuthorSamuel Krislov
Pages89

Page 89

(Latin: Friend of the Court.) The amicus curiae originally was a lawyer aiding the court. Today in American practice, the lawyers represent an organization, which is the amicus; the group's "friendship" to the court has become an artifice slightly disguising the fact that it is as much an advocate as any party. Although economic interests early employed the amicus brief, CIVIL LIBERTIES groups did not lag far behind. As early as 1904, a group representing Chinese immigrants participated in a Supreme Court case. By the 1940s, the activities of amici were extensive, well coordinated among sister organizations, and highly publicized. In the aftermath of several antisegregation decisions of the mid-1950s, southern legislators and other spokesmen criticized that participation as nonjudicial.

Prior to 1937 the Supreme Court had no formal rule governing amicus briefs. It was standard procedure first to seek consent of the parties to the filing of an amicus brief, but the Court almost invariably accepted an amicus brief irrespective of party consent. The 1937 rule required a request for party consent, but the same easy acceptance of participation continued. In 1949, in the face of criticism, the Court noted that consent of the parties would be expected; without such consent "such motions are not favored." For a decade thereafter denials exceeded granting of motions by a wide margin.

The rule has been retained in subsequent revisions. In practice, however, such...

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