Rule 27.1 - Further Appellate Review(a) Application; When Filed; Grounds. Within 21 days after the date of the decision of the Appeals Court, any party to the appeal may file an application for further appellate review of the case by the Supreme Judicial Court. Such application shall be founded upon substantial reasons affecting the public interest or the interests of justice. Oral argument in support of an application shall not be permitted except by order of the court.(b) Contents of Application; Form. The application for further appellate review shall contain, in the following order: (1) a request for further appellate review; (2) a statement of prior proceedings in the case (including whether any party is seeking a reconsideration or modification in the Appeals Court); (3) a short statement of facts relevant to the appeal (but facts correctly stated in the decision of the Appeals Court shall not be restated); (4) a statement of the points with respect to which further appellate review of the decision of the Appeals Court is sought; and(5) a brief statement (consisting of not more than either 10 pages of text in monospaced font or 2,000 words in proportional font as defined in Rule 20(a)(4)(B) ), including appropriate authorities, indicating why further appellate review is appropriate. A copy of the rescript and decision of the Appeals Court shall be appended to the application. In addition, if the Appeals Court entered a memorandum and order under M.A.C. Rule 23.0 which refers to another document, such as a brief or judge's findings and rulings, a copy of that document, or, if appropriate, the pertinent pages of that document, shall be appended to the application. The application shall comply with the requirements of Rule 20(a), and shall contain a certification of such compliance, including a statement of how compliance with the foregoing length limit was ascertained, as specified in Rule 16(k).(c) Response; Form. Within 14 days after the filing of the application, any other party to the appeal may, but need not, file and serve a response thereto (consisting of not more than either 10 pages of text in monospaced font or 2,000 words of text in proportional font, as defined in Rule 20(a)(4)(B) ) setting forth reasons why the application should or should not be granted. The response shall not restate matters described in Rule 27.1(b)(2) and (3) unless the opposing party is dissatisfied with the statement thereof contained in the application. A response shall comply with the requirements of Rule 20(a), and shall contain a certification of such compliance, including a statement of how compliance with the foregoing length limit was ascertained, as specified in Rule 16(k). A response may be filed in a different form as permitted by the court.(d) Filing; Service. One copy of the application and of each response shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the full Supreme Judicial Court. No copy of the application or any response need be filed in the Appeals Court. Filing and service of the application and of any response shall comply with Rule 13.(e) Vote for Further Appellate Review; Certification. If any 3 justices of the Supreme Judicial Court shall vote for further appellate review for substantial reasons affecting the public interest or the interests of justice, or if a majority of the justices of the Appeals Court or a majority of the justices of the Appeals Court deciding the case shall certify that the public interest or the interests of justice make desirable a further appellate review, an order allowing the application or the certificate, as the case may be, shall be transmitted to the clerk of the Appeals Court with notice to the lower court. The clerk of the Appeals Court shall forthwith transmit to the clerk of the full Supreme Judicial Court all documents filed in the case .(f) Briefs. Any party may apply to the Supreme Judicial Court within 14 days after the date on which the appeal is docketed in the full Supreme Judicial Court for permission to file a new brief. If the application is granted, the new brief must be filed in accordance with the briefing schedule established by the clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, and the court may impose terms as to the length and filing of such brief and any response thereto. If a new brief is filed, it will be considered in lieu of the Appeals Court brief. If permission to file a new brief is denied or not sought, cases in which further appellate review has been granted shall be argued on the briefs filed in the Appeals Court.(g) Equally Divided Vote on Further Appellate Review. If, following allowance of an application for further appellate review, the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court are equally divided in opinion, unless a majority of the participating justices decides otherwise, the court shall issue an order noting such equal division, the effect of which shall be the same as if the court had denied the application for further appellate review.Amended effective 2/24/1975;7/1/1991;1/1/1994;11/1/1994;2/1/1995;4/14/1995; amended October 30, 1997, effective 1/1/1998, Amended, effective 6/1/2001; amended February 26, 2004, effective 4/1/2004; amended October 31, 2018, effective 3/1/2019; amended July 8, 2021, effective 9/1/2021.