How Cases Reach and Are Decided by the US Supreme Court
1.
2. Of all the cases
appealed to the
Supreme Court each
year, only 1% of them get
heard.
How do they get there?
3. Original Jurisdiction
› What are the two
circumstances where
the Supreme Court has
Original Jurisdiction?
From lower courts
› Writ of Certiorari
› On Appeal
4. An order from the Supreme Court to
send up records from a lower court case
for review
People can petition the Court for
certiorari
› Must argue that the lower court made a
mistake or…
› The case involves a constitutional issue
Only 10% get accepted
5. Decision of a lower
federal or state court has
been requested to be
reviewed
Few cases arrive on
appeal
If a case is dismissed, the
decision of the lower
court stands
6. Cases worthy of consideration get put
on the “discuss list” (about 1/3)
If four of the justices agree to hear the
case, it will be heard
Per CuriamOpinion-
Court rules quickly on the basis of written
materials only
Brief, unsigned statement of the court’s
opinion
7. 1. Submitting briefs
2. Oral Arguments
3. The Conference
4. Writing the Opinion
8. Written statement from
lawyers
› Legal arguments
› Relevant facts
› Precedents
Amicus Curiae Brief
› “friend of the court”
› Briefs from interest groups/govt.
agencies who are not directly
involved, but have an interest in
the case
9. Each lawyer gets 30
min to summarize their
key points
Justices may interrupt
and ask questions
Time warning-
› White light (5 min)
› Red light- stop talking
immediately
10. TOP SECRET
The nine justices meet
wed. and fri. to discuss
the cases they have
heard
No records are kept
No one else is allowed in
the room
When they leave, they
have a decision
› Need majority to make
ruling
11. Unanimous decision- all agree
Majority opinion- most of justices
Concurring opinion- agree with
majority’s opinion, but for different
reasons
Dissenting opinion- justices on the losing
side