Justice Manual § 5-11.117

All appeals in criminal cases arising under the statutes identified in JM 5-11.101 shall be handled as provided for in JM 5-8.300 and Title 2. When a United States Attorney's Office makes a request to handle an appeal, such a request will be resolved by agreement between the United States Attorney's Office and the Chief of the Appellate Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. In jointly resolving such a request, the following factors, among others, should be considered on a case-by-case basis and, if necessary, discussed:

The relative advantages of staffing the appeal with an Assistant United States Attorney who tried the case or with an appellate lawyer who was not involved in the trial;

The relative advantages of the United States Attorney's local perspective or the Environment and Natural Resources Division's national perspective;

Whether there are issues on which components of the government may have differing viewpoints; and

The available resources of each office, especially relative to the briefing and argument schedule of the appeal.

Copies of any draft briefs prepared by a United States Attorney's Office on behalf of the government shall be forwarded to the Appellate Section in sufficient time to allow review, comment, and approval by the Section and the Assistant Attorney General. Copies of any draft brief prepared by the Appellate Section shall be forwarded to the United States Attorney's Office in sufficient time to allow review, comment, and approval by that office. In any appeal, copies of all other briefs by other parties shall be promptly forwarded by the United States Attorney's Office to the Appellate Section.