Chapter 14 Petitions for Rehearing
Library | Handling Appeals in Arkansas (2021 Ed.) |
A. Introduction
The appellate court has ruled against you. Before the ink dries on the court's opinion, you want another chance to be heard. The words "petition for rehearing" in ASCR 2-3 resonate with hope. But here you must pause, take a deep breath, and remember the enduring words of Justice George Rose Smith: "What's a seven-letter word for petition for rehearing? Tantrum."
A petition for rehearing is not an opportunity to reargue your case. Instead, the petition must identify a specific error of law or fact in the appellate opinion that impacts all or part of the court's holding. Be strategic and precise. Avoid throwing a "tantrum" for losing an appeal, lest you miss the opportunity to navigate this narrow opportunity for relief.
B. The Requirements of ASCR 2-3
1. Filing the Petition
A petition for rehearing and a $25 filing fee must be filed with the clerk within 18 days from the date the appellate court issues its opinion. ASCR 2-3(a); ACA § 21-6-401(a)(3). Why 18 days? Because the court's mandate may issue any time after then. ASCR 5-3(b). The court will grant more time to file a petition only on written motion demonstrating counsel's illness or unavoidable casualty. ASCR 2-3(c). In cases at the Supreme Court, file eight copies of the petition and supporting brief; file 14 copies in Court of Appeals cases. ASCR 2-3(d). Additional counsel may participate in filing the petition, but the original attorney of record must sign the petition.
2. Contents of the Petition
The petition's purpose is to call the appellate court's attention to specific errors of law or fact in the opinion. Henry v. QHG of Springdale, Inc., 2010 Ark. App. 847, 378 S.W.3d 803 (affirming the circuit court's award of attorneys' fees after originally remanding the case for further findings by the circuit court under an improper application of the attorneys'-fee statute); but see Echols v. State, 361 Ark. 15, 201 S.W.3d 890 (2005) (denying a petition for rehearing where the appellant merely reasserted his previous arguments); Jones v. Jones, 327 Ark. 195, 938 S.W.2d 228 (1997) (recognizing that a post-opinion petition raising matters collateral to the opinion is not a petition for rehearing as contemplated by the rules).
If the petitioner asserts that the court has overlooked a specific fact in reaching its decision, the petition must contain a clear reference to the omitted fact in the original abstract or addendum. ASCR...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Books and Journals
- Handling Appeals in Arkansas (2021 Ed.)
- Front Matter
- Chapter 1 Things You Need to Know
- Chapter 2 Final Judgments and Appealable Orders
- Chapter 3 Preserving Error
- Chapter 4 Stay and Supersedeas
- Chapter 5 The Notice of Appeal-civil
- Chapter 6 The Notice of Appeal — Criminal
- Chapter 7 Preparing and Filing the Record-civil
- Chapter 8 Filing the Record in a Criminal Case
- Chapter 9 Standards of Review on Appeal
- Chapter 10 The Abstract and Addendum
- Chapter 11 Writing Appellate Briefs
- Chapter 12 Writing Amicus Briefs
- Chapter 13 Oral Argument
- Chapter 14 Petitions for Rehearing
- Chapter 15 Petitions for Review
- Chapter 16 Special Kinds of Appeals
- Chapter 17 Motion Practice in the Arkansas Appellate Courts
- Chapter 18 Special and Extraordinary Proceedings
- Chapter 19 Ethical Issues in Appellate Practice
- Chapter 20 Dependency/neglect Appeals
- Appendix A Appeal Deadlines Checklist
- Appendix B Model Appellate Forms
- Appendix C Model Appellant's Brief
- Appendix D Model Appellee's Brief
- Appendix E Model Reply Brief
- Appendix F Model Amicus Motions and Briefs
- Appendix G Model Petition for Rehearing
- Appendix H Model Petition for Review
- Appendix I Bibliography on Appellate Practice
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.