Handbook XI.B: Postponements
D.C. Circuit Rules — Handbook, Part XI. Oral Argument
(See Fed. R. App. P. 34(b); D.C. Cir. Rule 34(g).)
Once a case has been calendared, the Clerk’s Office cannot change the argument date, and the Court will not ordinarily reschedule it. Any request to reschedule must be made by motion, which will be presented to a panel of the Court for disposition. The Court disfavors motions to postpone oral argument and will grant them only upon a showing of "extraordinary cause." Unless the panel that grants a motion to postpone argument is prepared to retain the case and hear it outside its normal sitting period, the case will have to be rescheduled for the first available date on the calendar — possibly months later than the original date. Accordingly, it is in counsel's interest to avoid seeking to postpone argument.