Motion to Expedite Appeal

CAPTION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE [________________________________] CIRCUIT

[________________________________],
Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

[________________________________],
Defendant-Appellee.

Case No.: [____________________]
On Appeal From the United States District Court
For the [________________________________] District of [____]
District Court Case No.: [____________________]

APPELLANT'S MOTION TO EXPEDITE APPEAL AND FOR ACCELERATED BRIEFING SCHEDULE

Emergency Notation (if applicable): EMERGENCY MOTION — RELIEF REQUESTED BY [__/__/____]
(Bold the deadline on the caption page per circuit emergency motion rules if irreparable harm will occur within 21 days.)

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Pursuant to Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 2 and 27, Appellant [________________________________] respectfully moves this Court for an order expediting this appeal and adopting an accelerated briefing and argument schedule. Expedited treatment is warranted because [summarize in one sentence the core basis: irreparable harm / mootness risk / public importance / time-sensitive underlying relief].

Without expedition, [describe specific consequence: the district court's TRO will expire on [__/__/____] mooting this appeal / the [election/transaction/deadline] will occur on [__/__/____] / irreparable harm to [________________________________] will result before this Court can review the matter under the normal schedule].

BACKGROUND

A. Nature of the Case

[Appellant] appeals from the [________________________________] entered by the Honorable [________________________________], United States District Judge for the [________________________________] District of [____], on [__/__/____]. (ECF No. [____].) The district court [granted/denied/dismissed] [________________________________], holding that [________________________________].

B. The Proceedings Below

[Provide a concise procedural history: key pleadings filed, relevant hearings, and the specific order on appeal.] The district court's order is [attached / filed simultaneously] as Exhibit A.

☐ Appellant sought a stay pending appeal in the district court on [__/__/____].
☐ The district court [granted/denied] the stay on [__/__/____]. (ECF No. [____].)
☐ No stay application was made in the district court because [________________________________].

C. Current Appeal Status

Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal on [__/__/____]. The record on appeal [has been/has not yet been] transmitted. Under the standard briefing schedule:

This normal timeline is untenable because [________________________________] — a date that falls before the current projected briefing completion.

GROUNDS FOR EXPEDITED TREATMENT

I. IRREPARABLE HARM WILL OCCUR BEFORE THIS APPEAL CAN BE RESOLVED UNDER THE STANDARD SCHEDULE

The fundamental standard for expedition in federal circuit courts is a showing that a party will suffer irreparable harm absent accelerated review. See, e.g., 9th Cir. R. 27-12 (expedited briefing upon showing of good cause including imminent irreparable harm or mootness risk); 5th Cir. R. 27.5.

Appellant will suffer the following irreparable harms if this appeal proceeds on the standard timeline:

1. [Harm 1]: [________________________________]. This harm cannot be remedied by monetary damages or a later favorable ruling because [________________________________].

2. [Harm 2]: [________________________________]. Once [the injunction expires / the transaction closes / the election occurs / the period lapses], no appellate remedy will restore the status quo.

3. Mootness Risk: This appeal will become moot unless resolved by [__/__/____] because [________________________________]. Federal courts have routinely expedited appeals facing imminent mootness. See, e.g., [________________________________], [___] F.[__]d [___] ([__] Cir. [____]).

II. THE UNDERLYING MATTER IS TIME-SENSITIVE BY NATURE

[Describe why the underlying subject matter carries inherent urgency. Examples:]

☐ TRO/Preliminary Injunction Expiration: The district court's temporary restraining order expires on [__/__/____] and was not extended pending appeal. Unless this Court reverses the denial of a preliminary injunction before that date, the TRO's protections will lapse.

☐ Statutory/Regulatory Deadline: Federal [statute/regulation] requires [action] by [__/__/____]. See [statutory citation]. The district court's ruling effectively prevents compliance before that deadline.

☐ Election/Political Calendar: The matter concerns [describe electoral/political event] scheduled for [__/__/____]. Post-election appellate review cannot restore the pre-election status quo.

☐ Business/Transactional Deadline: The parties' [merger agreement / contract / license] contains a [outside date / termination date] of [__/__/____], after which the underlying agreement expires by its own terms.

☐ Custodial/Liberty Interest: Appellant [describe person subject to custody, detention, or removal proceeding]. Every additional day of delay causes irreparable deprivation of liberty interests.

III. THIS APPEAL PRESENTS A QUESTION OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

☐ This appeal directly implicates the constitutional rights of [________________________________], a class of [estimated number] individuals affected by the district court's ruling throughout this Circuit.

☐ The legal question presented — [________________________________] — has not been definitively resolved by this Court and is currently pending before multiple district courts in this Circuit with conflicting results.

☐ Prompt resolution will provide needed guidance to [government agencies / lower courts / regulated entities] and prevent continued harm to the public interest from uncertainty in the law.

IV. THE STANDARD BRIEFING TIMELINE WILL MOOT OR EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATE APPELLANT'S ABILITY TO OBTAIN MEANINGFUL RELIEF

[Explain specifically how the standard schedule defeats the purpose of the appeal.] Even if this Court ultimately rules in Appellant's favor under the standard schedule, the practical benefit of that ruling will be [eliminated/severely diminished] because [________________________________].

PROPOSED EXPEDITED BRIEFING SCHEDULE

Appellant proposes the following accelerated schedule, which affords Appellee [____] days to prepare each brief — sufficient time for a matter of this [limited/focused] scope:

Comparison — Standard vs. Proposed Schedule:

This schedule is feasible. The issues on appeal are discrete and fully briefed below. The appendix is [compact / limited to [____] pages]. Appellant has already commenced preparation of the opening brief.

BALANCE OF HARDSHIPS AND ABSENCE OF PREJUDICE TO APPELLEE

Appellee will not suffer substantial prejudice from the proposed accelerated schedule because:

1. Appellee's counsel is already familiar with the record, having briefed these issues fully in the district court.
2. The issues on appeal involve [legal questions / statutory interpretation] that do not require extensive factual development.
3. [________________________________].

By contrast, the harm to Appellant from denial of expedition — [describe specific harm] — far outweighs any inconvenience to Appellee from an accelerated briefing deadline.

CONFERRAL WITH OPPOSING COUNSEL

Pursuant to [Circuit] Rule [____] and FRAP 27(a)(2)(A), counsel for Appellant conferred with counsel for Appellee regarding this motion on [__/__/____] by [telephone/email].

☐ Appellee does not oppose this motion and [consents to / takes no position on] the proposed schedule.

☐ Appellee opposes this motion. Appellee's stated grounds for opposition are: [________________________________].

☐ Appellant was unable to reach Appellee's counsel prior to filing despite attempts on [__/__/____] and [__/__/____] by [telephone/email]. Given the urgency, Appellant proceeds without consent.

REQUESTED RELIEF

For the foregoing reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

1. Grant this Motion to Expedite Appeal;
2. Order Appellant's Opening Brief due on or before [__/__/____];
3. Order Appellee's Response Brief due on or before [__/__/____];
4. Order Appellant's Reply Brief due on or before [__/__/____];
5. Schedule oral argument at the earliest available date, preferably [__/__/____] or as soon thereafter as the Court's calendar permits;
6. Shorten the time for any response to this motion to [____] days under FRAP 27(a)(3)(A); and
7. Grant such other relief as the Court deems appropriate.

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
[Bar Number: [____]]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address Line 1]
[City, State ZIP]
[Phone: ([____]) [____]-[____]]
[Email: [________________________________]]

Counsel for Appellant [________________________________]

Dated: [__/__/____]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I caused a copy of the foregoing Motion to Expedite Appeal to be served upon all counsel of record via the Court's CM/ECF electronic filing system, and that electronic notice will be sent to:

[________________________________], Counsel for Appellee [________________________________]
[Email: [________________________________]]

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

CIRCUIT-SPECIFIC NOTES ON EXPEDITED APPEALS

Before filing, consult your circuit's local rules:

9th Circuit: Motions for expedited briefing under 9th Cir. R. 27-12. If irreparable harm will occur within 21 days, contact the Emergency Motions Unit at (415) 355-8020 before or upon filing. Place the requested relief date in bold on the caption page.

5th Circuit: Motions under 5th Cir. R. 27.5. Emergency motions filed under 5th Cir. R. 27.3 require simultaneous telephone notice to the clerk.

2nd Circuit: Motions for expedited briefing schedules under 2d Cir. R. 27.1. Parties should contact the Clerk's Office to advise of pending emergency motions.

11th Circuit: 11th Cir. R. 27-1 governs motions. Parties seeking expedited treatment should clearly label the motion as "Time-Sensitive" on the cover page.

D.C. Circuit: D.C. Cir. R. 27(f) governs emergency motions. Counsel must notify the clerk by telephone or email before filing an emergency motion.

28 U.S.C. § 1657: Courts shall expedite the consideration of actions brought by the United States or a federal agency, or any other action where Congress has provided for a preference. Courts also have inherent authority to expedite cases where justice requires.