An amicus curiae is a person who isn't a party to a case. They assist an appellate court by offering additional, relevant information or arguments the court may want to consider before making their ruling. ... They essentially show the court that its final decision will impact people other than the parties.

Is amicus curiae important?

Conventional wisdom holds that the brief presented by the Amicus Curiae provide new information to the court which they aren't exposed to via litigants and helps to decide the matter, one important point to be noted is that Amicus Curiae is always the person either volunteering or appointed by the court who does not ...

Why are so many amicus briefs filed?

This is probably the most common reason for filing an amicus brief. You are a think tank or other non-profit and your mission is to support a particular world view. An amicus brief is your opportunity to educate the court on an issue that you have studied extensively and that may affect your entities' important issues.