In the past week, the coronavirus has prompted the Supreme Court to close its building to the public and postpone its March argument session, which was slated to begin on March 23. Today the justices responded again to the emergency created by the virus and its impact on U.S. workplaces by issuing an order that (among other things) relaxes filing deadlines for petitions seeking Supreme Court review.

As a result of today’s order, petitions for review are now due 150 days (rather than 90 days, as had previously been the case) after the lower-court ruling. Motions to extend the time to file other documents – such as a brief opposing review – will, the court announced today, normally be granted “if the grounds for the application are difficulties relating to COVID-19 and if the length of the extension requested is reasonable under the circumstances.” However, the court continued, the changes outlined in today’s order do not apply to cases in which the court has already granted review.

The changes announced today will remain in place indefinitely.

This post is also published on SCOTUSblog.