Oral Argument
Most arguments are conducted in the Courtroom of the Indiana Supreme Court, located in Room 317 of the State House. The State House is the large domed building occupying the space between Washington, Ohio, Capitol and Senate Streets in downtown Indianapolis. There are parking garages near the State House and on-street metered parking is sometimes available.
The following instructions are designed to apply to arguments conducted in the Courtroom of the Indiana Supreme Court. Occasionally, however, the Court will schedule an argument elsewhere. The order you received will identify the location of the argument. If it is scheduled to take place somewhere other than the Courtroom, please contact Supreme Court Services at 317-232-2540 for specific instructions.
Plan to arrive at least twenty minutes before the scheduled start of the argument. Upon first arriving, please fill out the forms you will find at the Sheriff’s desk outside the Courtroom. The blue form is for the appellant and the yellow for the appellee. Be sure to print your name clearly and legibly and give the form to the Sheriff or to someone from Supreme Court Services who will be in the courtroom to provide procedural assistance.
You will also be asked to do a sound check on the podium microphone in the courtroom with Supreme Court staff upon your arrival if no other argument is occurring, or otherwise during the short recess before the case you are arguing. This may be broadcast over the Internet and will be used to ensure the volume at which you should plan to speak during your argument.
By custom, the appellant sits at the counsel table on the left of the bench as you face the Court (near the door), and the appellee on the right (near the windows). Counsel of record and attorneys licensed in Indiana may sit at the counsel’s table. Non-attorney clients may sit in the front row of the gallery behind counsel’s table.
The total argument length is usually forty minutes, although sometimes there are variations. Please refer to the order you received to be sure about the amount of time allocated. The Court’s usual practice is to have the appellant go first in direct appeals or if transfer has been granted. If transfer has not been granted, usually the petitioner will go first. However, from time to time the Court may alter the typical sequence. The order you received from the Court will be controlling. The party authorized to go first may reserve any portion of the allotted time for rebuttal, but must tell the Court, and not just court staff, before beginning the argument how much time is being reserved.
The Courtroom is equipped with an electronic timing system, and you will notice a small box sitting on the podium. When you begin speaking, a green light will glow. When two minutes remain of the time for your argument, a yellow light will glow. When your time has expired, a flashing red light will glow. You will also see a digital display counting down the time remaining. Important note: The clock continues counting after time has expired; if the light is blinking red, then the number you see is the amount of time you are over the limit.
For the first argument, the timing system will be set according to the time reserved for rebuttal. For example, assume you have been allotted 20 minutes as the party to go first. If you tell the Court you intend to use 15 minutes in the main argument and reserve 5 minutes for rebuttal, the yellow light will glow after 13 minutes and the flashing red light after 15 minutes. If you use less than the time you have set aside for your main argument, that time will be added to the time for rebuttal. If you use more, that time will be subtracted from the time for rebuttal. For example, if you requested 5 minutes for rebuttal but nevertheless used 17 minutes for the main argument because you were held over by questions from the Court, only 3 minutes remain for rebuttal. If you have been allotted more or less than 20 minutes, the same general principles will apply but in a different time frame.
For the responding party (often, but not always, the appellee) the yellow light will glow when 2 minutes of the allotted time remains, and the red light will come on when time has expired.
The Court can see when the yellow and red lights come on. If you are responding to a question when the red light is on, concisely answer the pending question, advise the Court your time is up, and sit down. Do not summarize or add concluding comments after your time has expired.
The Court’s practice is to allow an entity that has been granted amicus curiae status in this proceeding to participate in oral argument without need of an additional motion. The party with whom the amicus is substantively aligned may share oral argument time with the amicus, but only if that party so chooses. Neither party should feel obligated to share time with an amicus.
Counsel should advise the Court concerning any agreements to share time both on the appearance form filled out at counsel table and at the start of counsel’s oral presentation. No special motion need be filed concerning the sharing of argument time. Experience has demonstrated that it is sometimes difficult for attorneys effectively to share time or divide issues among themselves. The timing system will not be adjusted to reflect shared-time arrangements, and the Court will not keep track of time to ensure such arrangements are realized. The Court may have its own agenda of questions that may not coincide with the way you have decided to divide your time. Please keep that consideration in mind.
The Courtroom is equipped with an amplification system, and there is a microphone on the podium. The clearest amplification of the speaker’s voice is achieved by speaking directly in front of the microphone, not to the side. Volume is controlled by the speaker’s voice and the distance from the speaker’s mouth to the microphone. Please be sensitive to the sound of your voice as amplified by the speakers. Speaking either too loudly or too softly makes it difficult for the Court to understand your arguments. Court staff will provide guidance on the volume level you should plan to speak during the audio check prior to your argument. Do note that this sound check may be broadcast over the Internet. If you require auxiliary aids or other accommodations to participate in the oral argument due to hearing impairment or other form of disability, please contact Supreme Court Services (317-232-2540) at least seven (7) days prior to the scheduled argument.
If you use an exhibit as part of your argument, you may want to consider limiting such use to 8.5″ x 11″ documents copied from the record of proceedings. Using some form of document from outside the record of proceedings might be useful in the right type of case, but bear in mind that new evidence cannot be introduced at this stage of the proceedings without leave of court obtained well in advance of the argument. If you use a documentary exhibit, have enough copies for each Justice and opposing counsel. The Sheriff or someone from Supreme Court Services will place these on the bench before the argument begins. Using exhibits placed on an easel would be unusual and can be problematic in the Courtroom. The Justices are seated about eighteen feet from the speaker’s podium, making most visual aids hard to see. Further, to point to the visual aid, you almost certainly will have to separate yourself from the podium microphone, making it hard for you to be heard. Also, the exhibits will not be picked up by our webcast cameras (see below). Please keep these considerations in mind.
Often, an argument will immediately precede yours or another will immediately follow. There will be a brief recess between arguments, with enough time for you to do an audio check and arrange your papers. You are welcome to arrive early or to remain after your argument to hear others, but you may not enter or exit the Courtroom while an argument is ongoing. A television monitor in the atrium outside the Courtroom broadcasts arguments as they occur, and is a convenient way to view them while you are waiting for your argument to start.
The Court allows the press and public in the Courtroom during oral argument. We do not know the extent to which there may be media interest in your case. However, the Court has rules in place regarding decorum. Please review the rules so you are familiar with expectations for press (for example, do not agree to do an interview inside the Courtroom, instead step outside the Courtroom if you wish to speak with press).
You may also be aware that the Supreme Court now records and broadcasts its oral arguments live over the Internet. The recordings are also archived on the Court’s website for later viewing. You will be able to watch and listen to your oral argument soon after it has concluded. Access to the live broadcast and to the archived list of recorded oral arguments is available at mycourts.in.gov/arguments/.
Additional information about oral arguments can be found in Appellate Rule 52 and Appellate Rule 53. If you have not already taken care of it, please remember your obligation of acknowledgment under Appellate Rule 52(C). If you have additional questions about the facilities or procedures, please contact Supreme Court Services at 317-232-2540.
Contact Information
Indiana Supreme Court
315 Indiana State House
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Pho: 317-232-2540
Fax: 317-232-8372
Rule 53. Procedures For Oral Argument
- Time Allowed. Each side shall have the amount of time for argument set by court order. A party may, for good cause, request more or less time in its motion for oral argument or by separate motion filed no later than fifteen (15) days after the order setting oral argument. A party is not required to use all of the time allowed, and the Court may terminate any argument if in its judgment further argument is unnecessary. A side may not exceed its allotted time without leave of the Court.
- Order and Content of Argument. Unless the Court’s order provides otherwise, the appellant shall open the argument and may reserve time for rebuttal. The appellant shall inform the Court at the beginning of the argument how much time is to be reserved for rebuttal. Failure to argue a particular point shall not constitute a waiver. Counsel shall not read at length from briefs, the Record on Appeal, or authorities.
- Multiple Counsel and Parties. Unless the Court otherwise provides, multiple appellants or appellees shall decide how to divide the oral argument time allotted to their side. If more than one attorney on a side will participate in oral argument, the first attorney shall inform the Court at the beginning of the argument of the intended allocation of time, but the Court will not separately time each attorney.
- Cross-Appeals. Unless the Court directs otherwise, if both parties file a Notice of Appeal, the plaintiff in the action below shall be deemed the appellant for purposes of this Rule. Otherwise, the party filing a Notice of Appeal shall be deemed the appellant.
- Amicus Curiae. Anamicus curiae may participate in oral argument without leave of the court to the extent that all parties with whom the amicus curiae is substantively aligned consent. Otherwise, the Court shall grant leave for an amicus curiae to participate in oral argument only in extraordinary circumstances upon motion by the amicus curiae.
- Use of Physical Exhibits at Argument; Removal. If physical objects or visual displays other than handouts are to be used at the argument, counsel shall arrange to have them placed in the court room before the Court convenes for the argument. Counsel shall provide any equipment needed. After the argument, counsel presenting the exhibits shall be responsible for removal of the exhibits from the court room and, if necessary, for return to the trial court clerk.
- Non-Appearance at Argument. If one or more parties fail to appear at oral argument, the Court may hear argument from the parties who have appeared, decide the appeal without oral argument, or reschedule the oral argument. The Court may sanction non-appearing parties.
- Appeals Involving Court Records Excluded From Public Access. In any appeal in which Court Records are excluded from Public Access, the parties and counsel at any oral argument and in any public hearing conducted in the appeal, shall refer to the case and parties only as identified in the appellate Chronological Case Summary and shall not disclose any matter excluded from Public Access in accordance with the requirements of the Rules on Access to Court Records.