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After the Court has disposed of a case — whether by written opinion or by denying review — the losing party is permitted to file a motion for rehearing.

In a unique aspect of Texas law, the Texas Supreme Court actually has a firm deadline for disposing of pending motions for rehearing: 180 days after the motion is filed. Most of these motions are denied very quickly. A few linger slightly longer. By the time a motion for rehearing has been pending for 90 days or so, there is a good likelihood that someone at the Court is at least considering whether rehearing is appropriate.

It is common for amici to file short briefs or letters supporting the motion for rehearing. While it would be preferable for those amici to have made their views known while the Court was still considering the merits, that is sometimes not possible — sometimes the amici are reacting to a wrinkle in the Court's reasoning that has implications beyond the present case.

Most of the time, the decision to deny rehearing is made very quickly. As motions for rehearing linger longer into that 180-day period, it becomes increasingly likely that rehearing will be granted or, at the very least, that a revised opinion will be issued.