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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

The court issued a brief order

English answer:

an order in a pending case

Added to glossary by Piotr Łazorko
Feb 11 20:56
3 mos ago
54 viewers *
English term

The court issued a brief order

English Law/Patents General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Prosiłbym o pomoc w tłumaczeniu tego terminu

"The US supreme court will hear Donald Trump’s appeal of the Colorado ruling that he should be removed from the state ballot under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, for inciting an insurrection.

The court issued a brief order on Friday, setting up a dramatic moment in American history.

In the year of a high-stakes presidential election, the case is set to move rapidly, under a fierce spotlight. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said that with “oral argument set for 8 February, the appeal will be extremely expedited … thus, briefs will probably be due as soon as possible, maybe [in] a week or 10 days for each side.”

The case will be argued on 8 February. As the Republican presidential primary will then be well under way, with Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada having voted – and as Trump has also been disqualified from the ballot in Maine, a ruling appealed in state court – a quick decision is expected.

The Colorado primary is set for 5 March. The state government must begin mailing ballots to overseas voters on 20 January and to all others between 12 and 16 February. The ruling suspending Trump is stayed, however, as long as the supreme court appeal is ongoing."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/05/supreme-cour...
Responses
4 +2 an order in a pending case
4 +1 the court gave a short instruction
5 -1 the court issued an order to involved party(ies) to submit additional brief(s)

Discussion

Michael Beijer Feb 15:
Turning legalese into a comprehensible shower.


;-)
Michael Beijer Feb 15:
:-) Translating terms with legal flair,
Rarely easy, quite the affair.
Amidst brief orders, context's king,
Navigating nuances, a challenging thing.
Sometimes, a phrase turns a case,
Lawyers baffled, translators embrace.
Artistry in language, their secret power,
Turning legalese into a comprehensible shower.
On deadline, caffeine-fueled nights,
Reading rulings, parsing rights.
So here's to those who make legal jargon clear,
Translators, in courtrooms, we cheer!

–ChatGPT
philgoddard Feb 15:
I've asked my brother-in-law to tell Martin Pengelly that Piotr knows better and brief doesn't mean short.
Christopher Schröder Feb 15:
You can lead a horse to water but...
Björn Vrooman Feb 14:
?!? Piotr, why did you tell Phil that it "would be fantastic" if he asked the person who wrote/edited the article only to ignore the answer he was given?

Also, in the US, and I didn't mention that because I thought the whole matter was settled, a briefing order is used to set a briefing schedule:
"Therefore, the Court’s initial briefing order, which set a schedule for the filing of
preliminary motions due October 26, 2018 and dispositive motions due November 13,
2018, should remain in effect and this appeal be allowed to proceed deliberatively and
fully without an unnecessary rush which could prejudice the Plaintiff-appellees."
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1628/ML16286A270.pdf

"On June 16, 2022, the Board issued a Notice of Appeal and Order Establishing Briefing Schedule (Briefing Order). The Briefing Order required Complainant to file an opening brief..."
https://www2.epic.org/amicus/opm/OPM-Briefing-Order.pdf

Cf. https://www.scotusblog.com/2011/12/health-care-schedule-set/

It has nothing to do with a brief (one to two sentence) order, possibly tied to what is known today as the SC's shadow docket.
Christopher Schröder Feb 12:
Still munching on popcorn, waiting to see the egg being peeled off a few faces 😂
Björn Vrooman Feb 12:
Thanks! Also agree that there's no need to replace anything here. Just to show he's not alone, here's the NYT's perspective (need to quote from a secondary source, as the original article is behind a paywall):
"[The New York Times] reports that the Justices would not hear arguments, but would 'issue a very brief order announcing the outcome with little or no legal reasoning.'"
https://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/iscotus/week-ahead-february-13...

Indirectly confirmed by the following:
"In some cases the justices have taken no action, in some they have issued a brief order and in a few they have written opinions."
https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/05/scotus-for-law-students-c...
philgoddard Feb 12:
...and the answer is in!
Piotr Łazorko (asker) Feb 12:
philgoddard -It would be fantastic!
Björn Vrooman Feb 12:
See also... "The Supreme Court does not hear oral argument in every case. In most cases, after all briefs have been filed, the court reviews them to decide whether oral argument will be helpful in deciding the case. Often, after reviewing the briefs and the record on appeal (the transcript, if one was ordered, and any documents that have been included in an appendix or transferred from the trial court), the Supreme Court decides that oral argument is not necessary to make a decision in the case. When this happens, the court issues a brief order explaining its reasons for either affirming or reversing the trial court. In fact, most cases are decided without oral argument."
https://www.courts.nh.gov/node/33601

Compare with this:
"If your case is not scheduled for oral argument, the Supreme Court will discuss it at one of its regular conferences and will decide whether to affirm or reverse the trial court’s decision. A short order explaining the Supreme Court's reasons will generally be issued within a week of the court's conference."
https://www.courts.nh.gov/node/33606

Best
Björn Vrooman Feb 12:
Yes,... ...that would be great; just wondering whether it's necessary. E.g.:
"In a very brief order, the court agreed to set this super fast briefing schedule and arguments for November 1st in United States v. Texas and Whole Women’s Health V. Jackson. For what it’s worth."
https://slate.com/transcripts/VGY2SU5FdnozbXI3c0o3emE1Y3hsVm...

"Late Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court handed down a very brief order establishing that sellers of 'ghost guns,' weapons that are sold dismantled in ready-to-assemble kits, must comply with the same gun safety laws and anti-crime laws as any other gun seller."
https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/10/17/23919988/supreme-court...

There are many more examples to back up Phil's assertion; "very brief" can hardly mean anything else than "very short."

[...]
Piotr Łazorko (asker) Feb 12:
philgoddard -It would be fantastic!
Christopher Schröder Feb 12:
I’ve got my popcorn 👌
philgoddard Feb 12:
Let's get this straight from the horse's mouth! My brother-in-law is a journalist with The Guardian, and his immediate editor wrote the article. He'll ask him in the morning. I'll be happy to back down if I'm wrong.

Of course, we're assuming that this is indeed an English-English question - it's written in Polish. Google Translate tells me it means 'I would like to ask for help in translating this term'.
AllegroTrans Feb 11:
ChatGPT is very good at making up stories, IMO "brief" has its root in briefing (notifying) the parties, and not in "brevity".
Michael Beijer Feb 11:
ChatGPT: "In the context provided, a "brief order" issued by the U.S. Supreme Court refers to a short, formal decision or directive that announces a specific action without providing a detailed explanation or reasoning. Typically, a brief order might announce the Court's decision to hear a case, set dates for hearing, stay a lower court's ruling, or make procedural directions. It is concise and to the point, often lacking the extensive legal analysis or commentary found in full opinions or judgments.

In this specific scenario, the "brief order" issued on Friday by the Supreme Court likely contained the decision to take up Donald Trump's appeal and possibly included basic information about the scheduling or procedural aspects of the case, such as the date for oral arguments. This order sets the stage for further proceedings and indicates the Court's willingness to review the lower court's decision under a tight timeline, given the impending presidential primaries and election."

:-)

Responses

+2
10 mins
Selected

an order in a pending case

See:
https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/03/justices-order-new-briefi...

Also known as briefing order




15 Jun 2020 — Unlike the concurring opinion, however, the brief order of the Court of Criminal Appeals did not analyze Strickland prejudice or engage with ...
57 pages

Justices order new briefing in Moore v. Harper as N.C. ...
SCOTUSblog
https://www.scotusblog.com › Newsfeed
2 Mar 2023 — The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions about whether it would reach a decision in a major election law case. In a brief order, ...

Juliana v. United States
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Juliana_v._United_St...
On July 30, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a brief order, denying the ... U.S. Supreme Court laudably did in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education ...

Donald Trump's fed trial on election interference postponed ...
USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com › politics › 2024/02/02 › d...
2 Feb 2024 — In the brief order Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated her order setting a schedule for questioning potential jurors in the ...

The Supreme Court's new abortion pill ruling, explained
Vox
https://www.vox.com › politics › supreme-court-aborti...
21 Apr 2023 — The Supreme Court handed down a brief order on Friday in Danco Laboratories v. ... The case will still need to be litigated in the conservative ...

In the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States (.gov)
https://www.supremecourt.gov › DocketPDF
PDF
In a brief order, a panel denied the application. Id. at A-25 to A-26. The panel recited the applicable standards under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2), Slack v ...
37 pages

US Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era 'Remain in ...
Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com › news › us-supreme-court-...
25 Aug 2021 — The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump. The brief order by the justices means that US ...
Peer comment(s):
agree Mark Nathan
14 mins
thanks
agree writeaway : RI (real intelligence) is so much better than AI...
28 mins
thank you
neutral Daryo : yes, that's true. But possibly not precise enough: would all and any "order in a pending case" be about asking parties "to submit additional briefs"?
7 hrs
And is your own "precision" correct?
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Dziękuję!"
-1
7 hrs

the court issued an order to involved party(ies) to submit additional brief(s)

The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions about whether it would reach a decision in a major election law case. ***In a brief order, the justices asked for additional briefing*** in Moore v. Harper, a case argued in December, to address whether the court still has the power to hear the case when the North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider the underlying redistricting dispute that sparked the case.
https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/03/justices-order-new-briefi...

Nothing to do with "brief" = brevity / quick reaction / short text / ..., all to do with "brief" = legal brief

Or in plain speak: judges saying to one or more of the parties: "we order you to give us more information about your case"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2024-02-12 04:36:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A sample of a "brief order" issued by the Supreme court:

The parties and the Solicitor General are directed to file supplemental letter briefs addressing the following question:
.....

https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/030223zr_k53...

the only "brevity" I can see in this "brief order" is:

"The briefs, not to exceed 10 pages, are to be filed simultaneously with the Clerk and served upon opposing counsel on or before 2 p.m., Monday, March 20, 2023."

but that's hardly what makes this document a "brief order".


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2024-02-12 04:41:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or IOW

a "brevity" amounting to "we want a reply of no more than 10 pages" is hardly what defines this document as a "brief order".
Peer comment(s):
neutral Christopher Schröder : You may or may not be right but I feel your tone is a little uncalled for
6 hrs
disagree AllegroTrans : NO: if you take a look at some of the examples I posted, you will see, for example " In a brief order, a panel denied the application..." That is not an order to file additional documents/evidence.
6 hrs
ALL of your links are DEAD lead only to the main page, not the articles - difficult to check anything. OTOH your only working link says: "the justices asked for additional briefing"?
Something went wrong...
+1
4 hrs

the court gave a short instruction

Brief means short. It's only one sentence long.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/010524zr1_apm...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2024-02-12 15:29:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

From my brother-in-law (see the discussion box):

'Martin [Pengelly] confirms brief as in "short order", not in the legal sense of court brief, and concedes, per your debate, that a different word should have been used to avoid such confusion.'

I don't think he should have used a different word. To most non-lawyers, including Guardian readers, brief means short.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Daryo : yes, all that is true. But there is also the concept of "big fat red herring" // and also brief = legal brief and also "context" that always has the last word...
3 hrs
It would be nice if you removed your disagree now that we have the definitive answer, but I'm not holding my breath...
neutral Christopher Schröder : That’s what it says to me too, but I am not an expert
9 hrs
Hope you enjoyed your popcorn!
agree Björn Vrooman : Another two examples where short and brief (order) are used interchangeably: https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/06/sotomayor-blocks-ohio-pri... / https://virginia-appeals.com/scv-panel-quickly-voids-injunct... Nothing more to it here.
11 hrs
Thanks, Björn.
agree AllegroTrans : I would not wish to contradict Martin Pengelly but to my English legal mind it is an odd term. How brief is brief?
17 hrs
Like I said, one sentence. But thanks for agreeing.
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