A. Amicus requests submitted to CAI shall be reviewed by a Amicus Curiae Advisory Committee (Amicus Committee)
- The Amicus Committee shall be a standing subcommittee of the College of Community Association Lawyers.
- The Amicus Committee shall consist of up to 24 members, 12 of which will be fellows of the College of Community Association Lawyers, 12 of which will be attorney fellows of CAI.
- The Board of the College shall solicit volunteers to serve on the Committee and recommend nominees to CAI's president for consideration and approval.
- Fellows of the Committee shall serve 2-year terms, staggered into two groups.
- The College of Community Association Lawyers shall appoint a fellow to serve as chair of the committee. The chair shall have a one year term.
B. Upon receipt of an application for Amicus, CAI staff will review the application to ensure it complies with the procedural requirements of this document. If not, staff shall engage the applicant in providing a complete application for consideration.
C. A complete application shall be forwarded to the Chair, who shall select an Amicus Review Panel of at least five (5) members review the application. Relevant materials will be provided to the review panel. Staff and the Chair shall strive to ensure that ample participation of CAI members with particular knowledge or expertise on the issue(s) under consideration.
D. CAI's Amicus Curiae Review Panel will review the request to determine whether:
- The request presents an issue that is important to community association law that is the matters of law the court is reviewing will have substantive impact on public policy of concern to CAI members within the state of CAI members nationally.
- CAI involvement is appropriate. The case at hand is the best venue for addressing the substantive issues of importance to CAI and represents a viable opportunity to impact the legal interpretation of those issues.
- Attorneys, particularly local attorneys, will be able to assist i, editing the brief.
E. An Amicus Curiae Review Panel shall vote by e-mail or via conference call on the request.
- Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees or its designated committee, the Amicus Curiae Review Panel has the discretion to determine CAI's position on the issue under consideration and the scope of any action, consistent with CAI's adopted public policies. By majority vote, an Amicus Curiae Review Panel may recommend to the CAI Board appropriate action on the request.
- The Review panel shall recommend to the CAI Board one of the following:
I. A brief on behalf of CAI as a national organization is appropriate;
II. A brief on behalf of a CAI chapter or state is appropriate; OR
III. No filing on behalf of CAI or a local chapter is appropriate.
F. If an Amicus Curiae Review Panel determines that no action should be taken, no recommendation will be made to the Board of Trustees or its designated committee, although the Board of Trustees will be informed of the request and an Amicus Curiae Review Panel's decision. If a panel recommends some action, it will present its recommendation to the Board of Trustees, or its designated committee, which will vote to accept, accept with modifications, or reject the recommendation. If the Board of Trustees, or its designated committee, rejects the recommendation by majority vote, then no action will be taken by CAI or any of its chapters or committees.
G. An attorney drafting and filing any authorized amicus curiae brief for CAI must be approved by CAI. Before the brief is to be filed, the party that is writing the draft brief must submit it to CAI's Government and Public Affairs Department for review and approval by the Amicus Curiae Review Panel which reviewed the application in question, with the preference that the draft brief be provided at least ten days before it is to be filed.
H. Amendments to the Amicus Curiae Submission and Review Procedures must be approved by the CAI College of Community Association Lawyers Board of Governors and the CAI Board of Trustees.