How long does the US Supreme Court take to make a decision after it hears a case?

Answer 1

According to an information guide for Supreme Court law clerks, the average time from argument to decision is approximately 81 days, except for cases heard on an emergency basis.

The guidebook warns this number is skewed by administrative decisions that may take only a few days. Other cases are beset by unavoidable delays attributed to the rules of the court and procedural and substantive due process (requests from one of the parties for extensions, enlargement of the record, etc.).

Occasionally, a non-emergent case may be decided in as few as 21 days, or, on rarer occasions may carry into the next Term due to reargument.

A survey of cases argued in the 2008-2009 Term revealed a few decisions delivered as quickly as five weeks after oral arguments, one delivered 26 weeks afterward, and another delivered slightly more than 30 weeks afterward. The majority of rulings seemed to fall in the range of 14-16 weeks after oral arguments.

Answer 2

The case must first be heard at the lowest level of court. Most states have a court system that exists in the same area as a federal magistrate court or federal district court. The case must be decided by the lower court and appealed to a higher court. In the federal system this is the circuit court. Once all the lower courts have been exhausted, the lawyers may apply to be heard by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will determine which cases it will hear.

Answer 3

According to Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking to a reporter with Daily Business Review in November 2006, it generally takes six months to dispose of a petition from the time it is filed. Roberts may have been including all the administrative processes involved before a case granted certiorari can be scheduled for argument, though, rather than the time interval between filing the petition and having certiorari granted or denied.

According to the US Supreme Court's own literature, it generally takes six weeks from the time a petition is filed until the Justices decide whether to grant certiorari for a case. Once a petition is filed, the respondent (the party that would be a defendant in a criminal trial) has 30 days to file a response or waive the right to respond.

If certiorari is granted, the petitioner has 45 days to file a brief on the merits of the case, then the respondent has 35 days to address the issues with his or her own brief.

Answer 4

According to published articles and the Court's own records, it takes about six weeks from the receipt of a petition for a writ of certiorari to a decision about whether to hear the case, and about six months total to prepare for oral arguments.

Once a case is heard, emergency cases are usually decided in a few days; non-emergent cases may take anywhere from three to thirty weeks before the Justices release a decision, although the verdict in most is determined in 14-16 weeks.

Answer 5

The length of time varies, depending on the importance, and complexity, of the case. Some are granted certiorari, scheduled for argument and decided within a week or two. More commonly, cases take approximately 12 to 24 months from the day they are petitioned until the Supreme Court issues a decision.

According to the US Supreme Court's own literature, it generally takes six weeks from the time a petition is filed until the Justices decide whether to grant certiorari for a case. Once a petition is filed, the respondent (the party that would be a defendant in a criminal trial) has 30 days to file a response or waive the right to respond.

If certiorari is granted, the petitioner has 45 days to file a brief on the merits of the case, then the respondent has 35 days to address the issues with his or her own brief.

Cases granted certiorari during the active Term are usually placed on the docket for argument in the next Term, which could be a year or more later.

The average time from argument to decision is approximately 81 days, except for cases heard on an emergency basis.

Answer 6

The length of time varies, depending on the importance, and complexity, of the case. Some are granted certiorari, scheduled for argument and decided within a week or two. More commonly, cases take approximately 12 to 24 months from the day they are petitioned until the Supreme Court issues a decision.

According to the US Supreme Court's own literature, it generally takes six weeks from the time a petition is filed until the Justices decide whether to grant certiorari for a case. Once a petition is filed, the respondent (the party that would be a defendant in a criminal trial) has 30 days to file a response or waive the right to respond.

If certiorari is granted, the petitioner has 45 days to file a brief on the merits of the case, then the respondent has 35 days to address the issues with his or her own brief.

Cases granted certiorari during the active Term are usually placed on the docket for argument in the next Term, which could be a year or more later.

The average time from argument to decision is approximately 81 days, except for cases heard on an emergency basis.

Answer 7

For courts of original jurisdiction, no time at all. As soon as the case is filed by the prosecutor, it goes on the docket.

Answer 8

The justices of the US Supreme Court hear oral argumentsfor approximately half to two-thirds of the cases it grants certiorari. The other cases receive a paper review.