Amici curiae in the U.S. Courts of Appeals

Students of law and courts know a great deal about amici curiae vis-à-vis the U.S. Supreme Court. Conversely, scholars know little to nothing about amici curiae in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. This article begins to address this deficiency in our state of knowledge by examining the incidence of amici at the courts of appeals level. Drawing in part on the existing literature regarding amici in the Supreme Court, I develop a model of amicus curiae participation in the courts of appeals that arises directly from a consideration of the goals of potential amicus curiae filers. To wit, amici are interested in obtaining favorable rulings in the courts, and, hence, there will be more participation by amici in a case the more desirable that case is as a policy vehicle. An analysis relying on the data available in the U.S. Courts of Appeals Database supports this argument.