The New Jersey Supreme Court has adopted the practice of “merits briefing” for Supreme Court appeals filed on or after February 10, 2026. This new practice brings with it important refinements to amicus participation that impact practitioners who handle appellate matters. Under the Court’s merits briefing model, the timing for amicus participation is now integrated into the parties’ briefing schedule rather than occurring after the completion of merits briefing. As a result, proposed amici must file motions for leave to appear as amicus curiae, accompanied by their proposed amicus brief, within 10 days of the respondent filing its merits brief.
Following those filings, the parties each have 14 days to respond to the amici in submissions restricted to 15 pages. The parties also retain the option, as appropriate, to file separate answers opposing the proposed amici’s participation in the appeal. Such filings must be limited to explaining why the proposed amici do not meet the participation requirements set forth in Rule 1:13-9 and may not address the merits of the amici’s views.
Under the new model, proposed amici are barred from seeking extensions of time to file their submissions. The new amendments also reduce the maximum length of amicus briefs from 50 pages to 30 pages. Finally, entities seeking leave to participate as amici must identify on the cover of their proposed amicus brief which party or parties they support. If the amicus’s position is not aligned with either party, the filing must indicate whether the amicus advocates for affirmance or reversal.
The Bottom Line
The new merits briefing model establishes reliable and definitive timeframes for amicus participation. Significantly, these refinements grant amici the benefit of having all arguments presented to the Court before they are required to file their brief. Although the page limit for amicus briefs has been reduced, the new model allows for a more expeditious resolution as the parties must respond to all amici by a single designated date.
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