Homework: OL 12.1 (all) due Tuesday

FrontPage: Why do you think the Supreme Court decides to hear certain cases and not

others?

Deciding to DecideHow Cases Are Selected By the Supreme

Court

To Cert or not to cert…If a party loses its case at the circuit level, it may choose to petition

the Supreme Court to review the decision: It is asking for a writ of certiorari; most cases reach the Court this

way; known as a “writ of cert”The Petitioner – the person who writes the petition for the writ of

certiorariThe Respondent – this is the person who won the case in the lower

courtThe Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions to hear cases

every year.Of those thousands, only about 80-100 are actually heard each year

The SC justices do not have time to review all of these petitions; their clerks will read them, and make suggestions about which are the most important

Chief Justice places some petitions on the discuss list The justices will get together in conference and discuss the petitions Other justices may also put petitions on this list if they believe they are

in need of discussionHow many justices does it take to agree to hear a case?

Once a case is selected…The writ asks a lower court to send up the record

of the case so the Court can review and hear it.3 options:

The court may decide to issue a per curiam opinion, if it knows how it will rule in the case – issues an unsigned general decision in the case

It may decide to hear the case – will put it on the docket

Vacate and Remand – send the case back down to the lower court to be retried in light of new circumstances