Posted by Jonathan Adler:
D.C. Circuit Rejects Retired Judges' *Amicus* Brief:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_12_24-2006_12_30.shtml#1167406616
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit [1]denied "the
unopposed motion of retired federal jurists for leave to file brief
amici curiae in support of petitioners regarding the Military
Commissions Act of 2006" in the consolidated cases of Bouemediene v.
Bush and Al Odah v. United States. The three judge panel's order was
issued withou opinion, providing only a parenthetical citation to
Advisory Opinion 72 from the Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes
of Conduct, which reads in relevatn part:
Judges should insure that the title �judge� is not used in the
courtroom or in papers involved in litigation before them to
designate a former judge, unless the designation is necessary to
describe accurately a person�s status at a time pertinent to the
lawsuit.
Judges Sentelle and Randolph supported the order. The third judge on
the panel, Judge Rogers, wrote a brief dissent, arguing that the Court
traditionally allows the submission of amicus briefs when not opposed
by the parties and supported by a sufficient statement of the amici's
interest. Advisory Opinion 72 was not controllng, Rogers argued,
adding that rejecting the brief could create the appearance of
partiality on the part of the court.
A copy of the brief in question is available [2]here.
References
1. http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200612/05-5062a.pdf
2. http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/judges%20brief.pdf
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