AGAIN?! WEATHER CLOSES APPELLATE COURTS

 

[Posted March 3, 2014] If you’re hurrying to make today’s filing deadline in the Fourth Circuit or  Virginia’s appellate courts, you’ve got a reprieve due to our old pal Aeolus. Today’s winter storm, which The Weather Channel has dubbed Titan, has closed all three courts today. This closure triggers an automatic extension of appellate-court filing deadlines.

 

I’ve given this warning twice in recent weeks, but it’s important enough to warrant a reiteration: This extension only applies to documents that must be filed in the appellate court’s clerk’s office. A good example is a petition for appeal or a merits brief. But if you have to file something in a trial court clerk’s office (the usual ones are a notice of appeal, transcript, or appeal bond) and your deadline is today, you must ascertain whether your local court is open today. If it is, then your deadline is unaffected by the decisions made in  Richmond this morning.

 

It was only about 16-17 hours ago that I was driving in my Mustang with the air conditioner on. Now even balmy Tidewater is bracing for a huge drop in temperatures and icy roads. I suppose I need to go back and make a sacrificial offering to Aeolus, to appease his wrath.