amicus brief

An amicus brief is written and filed by someone, not a party to the legal action, who volunteers information to the court to assist it in deciding a case. The brief is unsolicited and is often used where a case may have broader implications than just the specific case itself-it may have sweeping legal implications. There are specific rules as to who can file and how to file a friend of the court brief.

As in public legal environs, I too have established ground rules for amicus brief submission in my personal life. In order to have an amicus brief taken under consideration, please conform to the following:

1. Provide brief in writing. This may be in any written form, but email and text are preferred. Brevity is appreciated where appropriate, but misspelling and grammatical errors are burdensome to the reader and likely to detract from the import of your words.
2. You must be an interested party. To qualify as an interested party, you must have a vested interest in my well-being or integrity. This includes de facto all family members (however, status may be lost by lack of good faith dealing) and those I call friends. This does not include acquaintances, those who talk about me behind my back but pretend to be my friend and those who accuse me falsely in a court of gossip. In other words, you must generally have earned the right to file your brief before filing. Other interested parties are those impacted by my personal choices and lifestyle. I will take your brief under advisement if you can reasonably show impact.
3. Facts, logic and reason will be paramount; however, this does not preclude concepts of mercy, grace, forgiveness and compassion.
4. You are not entitled to a response to your brief, although you may receive one.

Above all, please remember that your brief is just that-and not the law. I retain the right to make all final decisions about my life.