Rule 21: Extraordinary Relief

(a) Petition: Service, Content, and Filing. Extraordinary relief from the Court may only be sought by filing a petition with the Clerk with proof of service on the respondent(s), the Secretary (if not a respondent), and any other party in interest. The petition shall-


(1) state the precise relief sought;


(2) state the facts necessary to understand the issues presented by the petition;


(3) state the reasons why the Court should grant the petition, including why the petitioner has a clear and indisputable right to the writ and why there are inadequate alternative means to obtain the relief sought;


(4) include an appendix containing copies of any order or decision or any other documents necessary to understand and support the petition; and


(5) describe any public officer who is a respondent by name and official title.


The requirements of Rules 3(f) (Payment of Fees) and 24 (Waiver of Filing Fee) apply to petitions. Upon receipt of the filing fee (unless waived pursuant to Rule 24 (Waiver of Filing Fee)), the Clerk will submit the petition to the Court.


(b) Form and Length of Documents; Translations.


(1) The requirements in Rule 32 (Form of Brief, Appendices, and Other Documents) apply to petitions and answers thereto, except that a petition or answer may not exceed 20 pages.  The petition shall be captioned: "[Name of Petitioner], Petitioner, v. [Name and Title of Respondent], Respondent." See also Rules 6 (Protection of Privacy) and 48 (Sealing of Cases).


(2) The requirements of Rule 3(h) (Translations) apply to any non-English-language document appended to a petition or an answer.


(c) Consolidated Petitions. Petitions may be consolidated by order of the Court on its own initiative or on a party's motion. Any motion to consolidate must contain an assertion of why consolidation is appropriate, be served on all involved parties, and comply with the requirements of Rule 27 (Motions).  


(d) Action on the Petition. Unless the Court concludes that the petition should be denied, the Court will order the respondent(s) to file an answer to the petition within a fixed time. Two or more respondents may answer jointly. If required, the Clerk will notify the parties of the time limits for the filing of any briefs and of the date of any oral argument.