Supreme Court of the United States
What is the deadline for backstop: reply brief on the merits received by 2 p.m. 10 days before oral argument?
Backstop: reply brief on the merits received by 2 p.m. 10 days before oral argument is governed by Sup. Ct. R. 25.3. This page does not calculate a date. BACKWARD-COUNTED AND TIME-OF-DAY SPECIFIC, and Sup. Read the rule text and the noted conditions before relying on any date.
Read why no date is calculated- Period
- 10 calendar days
- Trigger
- The date of oral argument
- Rule
- Sup. Ct. R. 25.3
Rules of the Supreme Court effective July 1, 2023
Source guide · No automated date
Why this page does not calculate a date
BACKWARD-COUNTED AND TIME-OF-DAY SPECIFIC, and Sup. Ct. R. 30.1 has no backward-counting provision. Two departures from the ordinary end-of-day rule: (a) the cut-off is 2 p.m., not the close of business or midnight; (b) the brief must be RECEIVED by the Clerk, so the Rule 29.2 postmark and third-party-carrier timeliness routes do not save a late arrival. Count back 10 days from the argument date and, if that day is a Saturday, Sunday, 5 U.S.C. 6103 holiday or Court-closure day, treat the deadline as moving EARLIER and refer for human review.
Read Rule 25"but any reply brief must actually be received by the Clerk not later than 2 p.m. 10 days before the date of oral argument"
Sup. Ct. R. 25.3
Which date starts the 10-day period?
The period runs from the date of oral argument.
Count backward from the trigger event. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.
Read Rule 25"but any reply brief must actually be received by the Clerk not later than 2 p.m. 10 days before the date of oral argument"
Sup. Ct. R. 25.3
This period runs from the specific event in the cited rule. Do not substitute a nearby date such as a hearing, a courtesy copy or the day you first learned of it.
Which date do I enter?How are the 10 calendar days counted?
- Exclude the day of the trigger event.
- Count every following day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, federal legal holiday, or a day the Court building is closed by order or inaccessible, continue to the next day that is not one of those.
Exclude the trigger day and count calendar days under Sup. Ct. R. 30.1.
If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday, federal legal holiday or a day the Court is closed, Rule 30.1 carries it to the next open day.
Rule 30.1 lists the days that carry a deadline forward, including days on which the Court building is closed or inaccessible. Rule 30 also governs extensions, which the Court grants sparingly. The national calculation does not confirm building closures.
Read Sup. Ct. R. 30.1The calculation gives the ordinary national-rule date. Check relevant holidays, the court’s accessibility and its filing cutoff separately.
Review the filing checklistWhy no worked calculation is shown
No date is calculated on this page because the encoded provision could not be reduced to one fixed period. Read the rule text, the starting event and the noted branches, then confirm the period in the current rules before relying on any date.
BACKWARD-COUNTED AND TIME-OF-DAY SPECIFIC, and Sup. Ct. R. 30.1 has no backward-counting provision. Two departures from the ordinary end-of-day rule: (a) the cut-off is 2 p.m., not the close of business or midnight; (b) the brief must be RECEIVED by the Clerk, so the Rule 29.2 postmark and third-party-carrier timeliness routes do not save a late arrival. Count back 10 days from the argument date and, if that day is a Saturday, Sunday, 5 U.S.C. 6103 holiday or Court-closure day, treat the deadline as moving EARLIER and refer for human review.
Can an order, motion or extension change the deadline?
- Extensions
- No extension provision attaches to the backstop itself. The Clerk will not file any brief after a case has been argued or submitted except by leave of the Court (Rule 25.7).
- Orders and local rules
- A scheduling order, stipulation approved by the court, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.
- No extension provision attaches to the backstop itself. The Clerk will not file any brief after a case has been argued or submitted except by leave of the Court (Rule 25.7).
- A stipulation, scheduling order, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.
- BACKWARD-COUNTED AND TIME-OF-DAY SPECIFIC, and Sup. Ct. R. 30.1 has no backward-counting provision. Two departures from the ordinary end-of-day rule: (a) the cut-off is 2 p.m., not the close of business or midnight; (b) the brief must be RECEIVED by the Clerk, so the Rule 29.2 postmark and third-party-carrier timeliness routes do not save a late arrival. Count back 10 days from the argument date and, if that day is a Saturday, Sunday, 5 U.S.C. 6103 holiday or Court-closure day, treat the deadline as moving EARLIER and refer for human review.
What should I check before filing?
These checks help you review the result. They do not activate a calendar date or certify that the deadline applies.
Common questions
Find answers about when this 10-day period starts, how it is counted, what can change it and how to keep your calculation.
Starting the clock
Does the clock start on the date of oral argument, or when I first learned of it?
The period runs from the date of oral argument as the rule defines it, not from the day you read about it, received a courtesy copy or attended a hearing. Use the date shown on the docket or in the service record.
Read Rule 25Counting days and filing
Is it 10 calendar days or business days?
Calendar days. Count intermediate weekends and holidays. If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, Sup. Ct. R. 30.1 carries it forward to the next day that is not one of those.
Sup. Ct. R. 30.1Which time zone and filing cutoff apply?
The Clerk’s Office filing hours and the electronic filing system’s requirements control the cutoff. This calculator does not verify system availability.
Sup. Ct. R. 30.1What if the court is inaccessible on the last day?
Rule 30.1 carries the last day past any day the Court building is closed by order of the Court or the Chief Justice, or is otherwise inaccessible. Check the Court’s notices.
Sup. Ct. R. 30.1Extensions and local rules
Can the court extend this deadline?
No extension provision attaches to the backstop itself. The Clerk will not file any brief after a case has been argued or submitted except by leave of the Court (Rule 25.7). A request does not itself extend the period, and no discretionary extension is calculated here.
Read Rule 25Do local rules, standing orders or a scheduling order change the date?
They can. Many courts set their own periods by local rule, standing order or case-specific order, and those control over the national default. This calculator gives the national-rule date only; compare it with any order in the case before relying on it.
Choosing the right calculator
Does this calculator decide whether the rule applies to my case?
No. It calculates a period from the date you provide under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule governs your filing, whether an exception applies, or whether the filing has merit. Those questions need separate review.
Can I calculate the deadline without an account?
Yes. Enter the trigger date to see the free national-rule calculation, citation, counting steps and warnings. You can add court context after the result. Missing court review keeps the result provisional.
Results, records and your case
What is included in an Evidence Record?
The retained inputs, result, cited rule, calculation working, warnings and review state. The PDF includes a payload digest and retained-data appendix, and the record can be verified against its fingerprint later. It records the calculation, not a guarantee of legal correctness.
Does saving to a case activate the calendar?
Not automatically. Provisional records remain subject to review. A separately labeled manual date does not alter the original calculation.
Official sources and review
The period and the counting method come from different provisions. The official source is the court’s published rules; the reading links open the rule text at the Legal Information Institute.
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Sup. Ct. R. 25.3 | Trigger and period |
| Sup. Ct. R. 30.1 | Counting, legal holidays and the last day |
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Published by Deadline Engine. This tool calculates the ordinary period under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule applies, obtain an extension or file anything for you.