Rule 12 Advancement on the Calendar

Once both sides finish filing their briefs (or the deadline to file them has passed), and judges have been assigned to hear the case, the court clerk lets the lead judge know the appeal is ready to be decided. The judges assigned to the case must then move this appeal ahead of other cases on their schedule, since child protective appeals are meant to be handled quickly.

The judges can still decide whether they want to hold oral argument, where lawyers come and speak to the court in person. This works just like it does in any other appeal. The main point of this rule is to make sure these cases don't get stuck waiting behind other appeals once they're ready for a decision.