Can you petition the supreme court

If a court grants the writ of certiorari, then that court will hear that case. Certiorari is most commonly associated with the writ that the Supreme Court of the United States issues to review a lower court's judgment.

A case cannot, as a matter of right, be appealed to the U. Supreme Court. As such, a party seeking to appeal to the Supreme Court from a lower court decision must file a writ of certiorari.

In the Supreme Court, if four Justices agree to review the case, then the Court will hear the case. This is referred to as "granting certiorari," often abbreviated as "cert. This is defined as denying certiorari. The Constitution states that Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.

Has a Justice ever been impeached? The House of Representatives passed Articles of Impeachment against him; however, he was acquitted by the Senate. Who decides how many Justices are on the Court? Have there always been nine? The Constitution places the power to determine the number of Justices in the hands of Congress. Over the years Congress has passed various acts to change this number, fluctuating from a low of five to a high of ten.

The Judiciary Act of fixed the number of Justices at nine and no subsequent change to the number of Justices has occurred. Do the Justices have any responsibilities other than hearing and deciding cases? The federal circuit courts of appeals and district courts are organized into 13 federal circuits and each Justice is responsible for emergency applications and other matters from one or more of these circuits.

For example, individual Justices may be asked to halt the implementation of a circuit court order, set bond for a defendant, or stop the deportation of an alien. Justices are also asked to act on applications for a stay of execution. Do all of the Justices have to be present in order to hear a case? A quorum of six Justices is required to decide a case. Justices may also participate in a case by listening to audio recordings of the oral arguments and reading the transcripts.

How many cases are appealed to the Court each year and how many cases does the Court hear? The Court receives approximately 7,, petitions for a writ of certiorari each Term. The Court grants and hears oral argument in about 80 cases. Thirty-five days after Mr. It is subject to the same page limit as Mr. The U. Therefore, the government decides to file an amicus brief in support of the zoo. The United States is one of a limited number of parties that do not have to ask for permission to file an amicus brief.

The Solicitor General also files a motion for divided argument, asking the Supreme Court to allot some time for her to speak as an amicus when the case is argued. Lyon has filed his merits brief and the zoo has responded, Mr.

The Supreme Court normally hears oral arguments between October and April, scheduling them into monthly two-week sittings during which the court hears two although sometimes one or three arguments per day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Generally, the court allots one hour of argument time for each case, with each party speaking for thirty minutes. However, in Lyon v. Because the Solicitor General will be arguing for the United States in support of the respondent, she or another lawyer from her office will be using ten minutes of the half hour allotted to the zoo.

During the oral argument, the justices have the opportunity to ask the attorneys to clarify or elaborate on any questions that have arisen from the briefs. Frequently, much of the oral argument is devoted to answering these questions. Because Mr. Lyon is the petitioner, his attorney argues first.

As soon as he finishes speaking, the attorney for the zoo has 20 minutes to respond. Later that week, the justices hold a private conference during which they vote on how to decide the case. The senior justice in the majority that is, either the chief justice or, if he is not in the majority, the justice who has been on the court the longest decides who will write the majority opinion ; if there is a dissent — a view held by a minority of justices that a different decision should have been reached — then the senior dissenting justice assigns one of the dissenting justices to write the dissenting opinion.

If a justice agrees with the outcome of a case but not the reasoning behind it, he or she may write a concurring opinion , in which other justices may join.

Justices may also write separate dissents. In the event of a tie vote — for example, if there is a vacancy on the court or if one of the justices has recused himself or herself from the case — the decision of the lower court remains undisturbed. The assigned justices then draft and circulate opinions outlining their reasoning in reaching their decision. Typically, all cases are decided by the time the court recesses for the summer at the end of June or the beginning of July.

The court announces its decision in Lyon v. Animal House Zoo in open court. Lyon instead. Supreme Court Procedure. Lower Courts Mr. Petition for Certiorari From the day the 2nd Circuit denies his petition for rehearing en banc, Mr. Merits Stage Once the court has accepted the case, the parties are required to file a new set of briefs. Oral Argument The Supreme Court normally hears oral arguments between October and April, scheduling them into monthly two-week sittings during which the court hears two although sometimes one or three arguments per day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Decision Later that week, the justices hold a private conference during which they vote on how to decide the case. This website may use cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can leave if you wish. Accept Read More. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.