Proof of Service of Petition for Certiorari

Filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court is no cakewalk! There are numerous rules and regulations governing certiorari petitions, some very unusual and different from those of regular courts. For instance, the writ petition format Supreme Court is decidedly singular and atypical.

And once a litigant has prepared an appropriate petition for writ of certiorari, he has to file 40 copies of the same with the Clerk of the Supreme Court along with the docket fee of $300. In case the petitioner is proceeding in forma pauperis, the number is trimmed down to an original and 10 copies only.

In either case, the petitioner has to also serve three copies of the papers filed in the Court to all opposing parties or their counsel. And simply serving the petition copies is not enough; an affidavit to this effect has to be duly filed along with the petition for certiorari itself.

This proof of service is formally known as Certificate of Service. It is a mandatory requirement and failing to submit the document is interpreted as noncompliance. Even if a valid service has been done, the Court will not ‘read the petition’ or act on it until the petitioner provides a valid proof thereof.

What is it?
A Certificate of Service is a legal declaration that all opposing parties or their counsel have been served with a copy of the petition papers filed in the Supreme Court. Even cross petitions need to be in the writ petition format Supreme Court and accompanied by an appropriate proof of service.

This affidavit is filed along with the petition, but should be on a separate paper from the rest of the bound document. It should set forth a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the counsel as well as indicate the names of the party (or parties) each counsel represents. It should also have an express statement that all parties required to be served have been served!

The Certificate of Service should be duly signed by a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court (representing the party on whose behalf service is made or by an attorney appointed to represent that party). If it is executed by a non-bar member, the signature should either be notarized or be accompanied by a declaration in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746. Alternatively, an acknowledgment of service that is signed by counsel of record for the party served will also suffice.
A sample Certificate of Service can look like this:

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, _______ hereby certify that on _______ I served a copy of the attached _______________________________(name of document) upon the parties listed below by [mailing it by [first class mail][personal delivery](Circle one) to the following addresses:
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on ________
_______________________
          (Signature)


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Role of Certificate of Compliance in Certiorari

As any attorney in the land will be ready to vouch, filing a petition for writ of certiorari is a long and arduous process. The Supreme Court sets out very exacting rules and regulations that spell out exactly how the document should be prepared.
For instance, the paper should be white, opaque, unglazed, 6 1/8 by 9 1/4 inches in size and not less than 60 pounds in weight. Nothing but “Century” family 12-point font is permissible. Similarly, there are specific rules for the margin size, cover paper, type of printing, binding style and so on. Even the maximum word count is clearly fixed and remains largely inflexible.
Therefore, any petition of certiorari can only go up to a maximum of 9000 words and never beyond. This includes all footnotes too. However, the following contents of a writ for certiorari are not included in the word limit:


•    The Questions Presented

•    The List of Parties and corporate affiliates of the filing party

•    The Table of Contents

•    The Table of Cited Authorities

•    The listing of counsel at the end of the document.

•    Any Appendix.

•    Verbatim quotations required under Rule 14.1(f) and Rule 24.1(f) if set out in the text rather than in the appendix of the petition.

Simply abiding by the word limit is not enough. The Supreme Court further requires that every petition of certiorari should also be accompanied by a Certificate of Compliance.
The certificate should clearly state the precise number of words in the brief and the fact that it complies with the word limitations. The word count of a word processing system can be relied on in this regard. However, it should be set to include all footnotes.
The certificate should be duly signed by the attorney, the unrepresented party or the preparer of the document. In case it is signed by a person other than a member of the Bar of this Court, the counsel of record or the unrepresented party, it must also contain a notarized affidavit or declaration in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
The Certificate of Compliance forms a separate document that is placed after the Certificate of Service and before the Appendix. It should always accompany the petition of writ for certiorari at the time of filing with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

A sample Certificate of Compliance: 

As required by Supreme Court Rule 33.1(h), I certify that the petition for a writ of certiorari contains _____ words, excluding the parts of the petition that are exempted by Supreme Court Rule 33.1(d).
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on ___________________

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