In Praise of the Cert Pool . . . dot com

(John Elwood)

Now that the real business of October Term 2010 is over, I just wanted to say a few words in praise of the cert pool. No, not that cert pool. The certpool.com, a website run by Austin appellate lawyer Don Cruse that tracks the progress of petitions by federal courts of appeals and by state courts of last resort. It is an extremely helpful way of keeping a close eye on the Court's docket.

The one shortcoming of the website is that its focus on appellate courts doesn't cover all of the Supreme Court's docket. Even apart from original actions (which, candidly, are hard for even hardcore Court buffs to get worked up about, although I guess I should speak for myself), every now and again, you get a case that comes straight from a three-judge district court. You won't find those on certpool.com. But surely, that must only happen.

Anyhoo, good work, Don.  Keep it up.