Good morning and happy Monday! We're back with another Supreme Court Brief. Avalon spoke to a federal appellate judge who spotted a mistake in how the high court is reporting the number of cert petitions each year. Brad, meanwhile, ran the numbers on advocates arguing before the high court this week. See who's appearing for their first time below. 

As always, thanks for reading and we welcome feedback and tips. You may contact Avalon Zoppo at [email protected] follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo. You can find Brad Kutner at [email protected] and @bradkutner.

The justices' conference room at the Supreme Court. Credit: Steve Petteway, Collection of the U.S. Supreme Court The justices' conference room at the Supreme Court. Credit: Steve Petteway, Collection of the U.S. Supreme Court

SCOTUS Statistics Slip-up

A federal appeals court judge has called attention to an inaccuracy in the way the U.S. Supreme Court is reporting the number of cert petitions filed each term.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judge Jon Newman said the court hasn't been counting the number of cases docketed each term based on the correct time frame. Terms start on the first Monday in October and run through the day before the first Monday in October the following year.