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Urban Justice Docket
    Urban Justice Docket

      The clocks

      This docket

      Area of law

      The Window to Appeal — page 2

      The period for challenging a decision is among the shortest and least forgiving in the law, and it usually starts before anybody is ready. What counts as the decision, whether service or issue starts the clock, what a notice of appeal must do, and whether an extension exists at all vary by forum. This subject covers the window: when it opens, what closes it, and what remains available once it has shut.

      The Window to Appeal

      Asking the Same Body to Reconsider

      Reconsideration allows the body that made a decision to correct or revisit it, usually on limited grounds: a clear error, a material fact overlooked, a change in circumstances or a manifest injustice. It is faster and cheaper than an appeal and it is not a route for re-arguing the merits. Whether it suspends the appeal period is the critical question.

      6 min readCourts and agencies