DECIDING CASES AT THE SUPREME COURT

Supreme Court

• Justice Louis Brandis – “In the frank expression of conflict opinions lies the greatest promise of wisdom in governmental action.”

How Cases reach the Supreme Court

• Session – business year of the Court is October to the following June or July
• Typical month during session
• 1^st two weeks – oral arguments are heard
• Two week recess – where Justices write opinions and study new cases
• During summer break justices study applications for review, write opinions, and catch up on other legal work

How Cases reach the Supreme Court

• Remember the Supreme Court is both trial court and an appeals court

Steps in the Decision making

• Acceptance – those cases the Court actually hears go on the Docket or Calendar
• A case will be accepted if 4 of the 9 justices believe a case is worthy of review
• Of approximately 7,000 case applications, only 100-150 or so will be heard
• Cases that are most likely to be heard
• Involve important constitutional issues
• Involve legal issues rather than political issues
• Those that affect the entire country rather than just a few individuals

Steps in the Decision making

• Written Arguments – briefs – or written document that explains one side of the argument
• Oral Arguments – each side has 30 minutes to summarize its case and justices get to question each side

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Steps in the Decision making

• Conferences – On Fridays, Justices get together to discuss the case, the chief justice presides and 6 members must be present
• 5 votes decide the case

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Steps in the Decision making

• Opinion writing – a majority opinion is written which presents the views of the majority of the justices on the case.
• The opinion states the facts of the case, announces the ruling and explains the Court’s reasoning.
• These majority opinions set precedent for lower courts to follow.
• Dissenting opinions may be written if a justice disagrees with the verdict.
• Concurrent opinions may also be written if a justice AGREES with the verdict, but for different reasons

Steps in the Decision making

• Announcement – the Court announces its opinion and posts it on the Supreme Court’s website. It also gives copies to the Press

Reasons for Court Decisions

• The Law – the Constitution is an influence when making decisions as is “stare decisis” a Latin term meaning “let the decision stand” making it possible to have the law predictable yet flexible enough to change with the times
• Social Conditions – can have influence on decision making, because the justices live in the world

Reasons for the Courts Decisions

• Legal Views – justices have different opinions on how to apply their power. Some believe in judicial activism, while others hesitate to use judicial review to promote new ideas or policies
• Personal Beliefs – no matter how objective they try to be, their beliefs influence their opinions
• Often use a priori cases