At least four of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court must agree to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari. This is called the rule of four. Conversely, five votes are required to determine the outcome of a case after it is heard.
Article III, Section 1 of the US Constitution specifies that "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress shall from...
Yes. The US Supreme Court has discretionary authority to issue writs of mandamus when the case falls under their jurisdiction. Supreme Court Rules, Rule 20, outlines the conditions under which the...
When the US Supreme Court issues a writ of certiorari (an order to the lower court to send up records), it indicates they have agreed to review the case under their appellate jurisdiction.
The US Supreme Court received 7,738 petitions for Writ of Certiorari (requests for case review) in 2008 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). This represents about a 20% increase...