Agenda Packets - 1987/06/01 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Why was the State and Local Legal Center established? Each year, out of the thousands of cases in which review is requested, the Supreme Court chooses about 150 for a full hearing, almost half of which are civil cases involving state or local governments. Before the creation of the Legal Center, the Court was deciding these cases without understanding the viewpoint of state and local government officials other than the party to the case. The Court routinely heard cases Involving federal preemption, state and local regulatory authority, and taxation; and it decided those issues case by case on the argu- ments of the parties involved. The larger perspective of state and local governments generally was not offered to the Court to help the Court in its decisions because there was no organization charged with that task. At the time that the Legal Center was established, there was no legal office or organization in the country --and there still is none other --that represented state and local government officials united in their common concerns. The absence of an effective, organized voice for federalism led to the establishment of the Legal Center. In its simpplest terms, the Legal Center provides a mechanism for state and local government officials to follow the Supreme Court's docket and respond with their views in appropriate cases. State and local governments seemed to be among the last major players before the Supreme Court to appreciate the value of thoughtful, well - prepared amicus curiae briefs. An effective amicus brief lets the Court- nowt at others care about the case�ow strongly they care, and why they care. It may also provide the Court with views that differ -- in legal theory, in breadth, in implica- tions, or otherwise -- from those expressed by the party to the case. Amicus briefs are often instrumental in winning the case before E—eTourt or in laying the groundwork for winning another case down the line. The federal government, public interest groups, and business interests frequently file such briefs to provide the Court with their views. In less than four years, the Legal Center has filed more than 50 amicus briefs in the Supreme Court. Frequently, the Legal Center's brief has been the only amicus brief filed in the case on behalf of any state or local governments or officials; and it is always the only brief filed on behalf of state and local offi- cials. Although other organizations, notably the National Association of Attorneys General or the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, may file or facilitate the filing of briefs on behalf of their members, neither offers the Legal Center's voice of state and local officials in unison. The Legal Center's amicus briefs, which have been expressly cited or obviously o lowed by the Court in many cases, fulfill the vision of the Legal Center's founders: a means for state and local governments, acting together, to advance their common interests and the interests of federalism in the Supreme Court. (The Legal Center's other programs, which are described in other answers, are also designed to enhance the presentation of the views of state and local governments to the Court.) - 2 -