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The Supreme Court decides to hear a case based on three major factors:

  1. Whether the appeal came from the US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts or state supreme court and is in conflict with the decisions of other Circuits (circuit split);
  2. Whether the case involves an important constitutional issue that has not yet been resolved; and
  3. Whether the lower court's decisions may be wrong in light of the Supreme Court's opinions.

The justices then vote to determine whether they want to review the case. If four justices (the "rule of four") agree the case is worthy of the Court's time, they will grant certiorari.

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12y ago
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13y ago

The Court has established rules governing its process and procedures, among these being Rule 10, which helps determine whether certiorari should be granted or denied. The Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States, adopted in February 2010, states the following:

Rule 10. Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari

"Review on a writ of certiorari is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. A petition for a writ of certiorari will be granted only for compelling reasons. The following, although neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's discretion, indicate the character of the reasons the Court considers:

  • (a) a United States court of appeals has entered a decision in conflict with the decision of another United States court of appeals on the same important matter; has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with a decision by a state court of last resort; or has so far departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a departure by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of this Court's supervisory power;
  • (b) a state court of last resort has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with the decision of another state court of last resort or of a United States court of appeals;
  • (c) a state court or a United States court of appeals has decided an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by this Court, or has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court.

A petition for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the asserted error consists of erroneous factual findings or the misapplication of a properly stated rule of law."

Most cases accepted on appeal involve decisions that conflict with the High Court's interpretation of the Constitution or federal law, or that the Justices believe need clarification in order to establish a precedent for application across all lower courts.

Granting certiorari does not necessarily mean the Court disagrees with the final appellate court decision; there have been many instances in which those verdicts have been affirmed. Likewise, denying certiorari is not an indication that the Court agrees with the appellate court decision.

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12y ago

The rule of four. It requires at least four of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court to agree to grant the Petition for Certiorari. If four Justices agree to grant the petition, the Supreme Court will consider the case. A Petition for Certiorari is granted in very, very few, selected cases--fewer than 100 a year-by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Each justice on the U.S. Supreme Court has a number of skilled law clerks working for him or her and these clerks review every writ of certiorari and submit a "cert memo" regarding the writs they review to the justice they are assigned. The judges review the memos and hold a conference to determine which of these cases should go on the court's docket.

The "Rule of Four" controls matters when deciding which issues the high court will hear. If four justices agree that a specific writ of certiorari should be granted, then the case will be placed on the Supreme Court's docket and an order stating that certiorari has been granted will be issued to the petitioner.

According to Supreme Court Rules, Section III, Rule 10, the following guidelines help justices determine which cases are viable for review (called cert. worthy):

Rule 10. Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari

Review on a writ of certiorari is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. A petition for a writ of certiorari will be granted only for compelling reasons. The following, although neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's discretion, indicate the character of the reasons the Court considers:

  • (a) a United States court of appeals has entered a decision in conflict with the decision of another United States court of appeals on the same important matter; has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with a decision by a state court of last resort; or has so far departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a departure by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of this Court's supervisory power;
  • (b) a state court of last resort has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with the decision of another state court of last resort or of a United States court of appeals;
  • (c) a state court or a United States court of appeals has decided an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by this Court, or has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court.

A petition for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the asserted error consists of erroneous factual findings or the misapplication of a properly stated rule of law.

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

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8y ago

The Supreme Court reviews all the case files from the lower courts; since they don't retry appellate cases, they can only consider information presented to the lower courts.

The case is argued to the Supreme Court by lawyers representing both sides of the case. The justices then discuss the case amongst themselves at conference, and can recall the lawyers who argued the case to present further questions.

The Justices have several means of evaluating the cases. The Justices may consider several things in deciding a case, such as: any previous precedent set by the Supreme Court or by lower courts, a reading of the Constitution in modern context, or a reading of laws, Amendments, or the Constitution with respect to the intentions of those who composed the document. The rulings of the Supreme Court become legally-binding precedent until the Court decides to overturn the ruling (either explicitly in the opinion or implicitly by suggesting fault within the ruling or with the basis of the ruling).

Ultimately, when the justices have settled their minds, they take a vote to decide the case. The side with the majority of votes is taken to be the ruling of the Court. The Justices' opinions must then be written.

The Chief Justice has the option to write the majority opinion if he (or she) has voted for the majority side. The majority opinion is considered the legally-binding opinion (i.e. the decision of the court). Chief Justice Earl Warren was notorious for casting the final vote in cases. If the case were to be 5-4 or 6-3 against his favor, he would switch his vote to the majority side and write the opinion as to curb the legal breadth of the ruling.

If the Chief Justice does not wish to write the opinion, he can decline and appoint another justice as author. Opinions are typically written for the majority (the side receiving the most votes), and the minority (the side receiving fewer votes) often offers a dissenting opinion or opinions. If the vote is unanimous, no dissenting opinion is written, and there is no requirement to write any dissenting opinion (some cases have no dissenting opinion despite having two or three Justices dissenting in the ruling).

Justices can always write their own opinions. They may write concurring opinions, which agree with the majority vote but which disagree on some specific of the ruling, or additional dissenting opinions. They may also write opinions which are concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justices may also endorse the opinions of other Justices. They can endorse as many opinions as they would like, though concurring with more than two opinions is extremely rare. I LIKE THE D

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14y ago

The Rule of Four

The rule of four means four members of the Supreme Court must vote to hear a case in order to grant certiorari.

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How many justices need to give their approval before a case is heard by the court?

Four Justices out of the nine are enough to grant a writ of certiorari (which is the term used for the Supreme Court deciding to hear a case). For more information, see Related Links, below.


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