Written and Unwritten
The Rules, Internal Procedures, and Customs of the United States Courts of Appeals

Although the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals are the final word on 99 percent of all federal cases, there is no detailed account of how these courts operate. How do judges decide which decisions are binding precedents and which are not? Who decides whether appeals are argued orally? What administrative structures do these Courts have? The answers to these and hundreds of other questions are largely unknown, not only to lawyers and legal academics, but by many within the judiciary itself. Written and Unwritten is the first book to provide an inside look at how these courts operate. An unprecedented contribution to the field of judicial administration, the book collects the differing local rules and internal procedures of each Court of Appeals. In-depth interviews of the Chief Judges of all thirteen circuits and surveys of all Clerks of Court reveal previously undisclosed practices and customs.

Foreword; Preface; Introduction; 1. The Chief Judge of a Circuit; 2. Administrative Structure; 3. Calendars, Panels, and Assignment of Cases; 4. Motions; 5. Expedited Appeals; 6. Briefs of Parties and Amici Curiae; 7. Oral Argument; 8. Precedential Opinions; 9. Non-Precedential Opinions; 10. En Banc Procedures; 11. Promoting the Expeditious Disposition of Appeals; 12. Death Penalty Cases; 13. Senior Judges; 14. Judicial Councils and Judicial Conferences; 15. Information on Websites; 16. Miscellaneous Provisions; Conclusion; Index.

Jon O. Newman is a senior United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Newman, a former Chief Judge, is the 2016 recipient of the Devitt Award, the federal judiciary's highest honor. Newman is the author of Benched, a memoir, scores of law review articles, and co-author of A Genealogical Chart of Greek Mythology with Harold Newman.
Marin K. Levy is a Professor of Law at Duke Law School. Levy's work on the federal courts and judicial administration has been published in the Yale Law Journal, University of Chicago Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and California Law Review, among other scholarly journals, and has been discussed in The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, and other public outlets. Levy has also testified before Congress and the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, and is a member of the American Law Institute.