“The cert pool is not without its critics. Some commentators have contended that inexperienced clerks in the cert pool give short shrift to cases of practical importance in favor of cases presenting esoteric legal questions…. Other critics have contended that the cert pool does little to advance its stated goal of efficiency…. Pool clerks frequently must take the time to formally summarize petitions that would occasion only a brief, candid recommendation to ‘deny’ from their own Justices.” Robert L. Stern et al., Supreme Court Practice 291 (8th ed. 2002).
cert pool
cert pool. A group of clerks in the U.S. Supreme Court who read petitions for certiorari and write memorandums for the justices with a synopsis of the facts and issues and often a recommendation of whether a grant of certiorari is warranted.
