1. Writs of certiori (writs of cert) Describe the process of granting a writ of cert by the Supreme Court. Why does this process exist?

2. Step 1: Appeal Parties who are not satisfied with the decision of a lower court (federal court of appeals) must appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. This is not because a person was unhappy with the verdict. It has to involve one of two subject matter jurisdictions: Federal question cases—cases concerning Constitution, federal laws, or treaties Diversity cases—cases involving citizens of different states

3. Step 2: The petition The primary means to petition the court for review is to ask it to grant a writ of certiorari. This is a request that the Supreme Court order a lower court to send up the record of the case for review. Court usually is not under any obligation to hear these cases; usually those they hear: –could have national significance –might harmonize conflicting decisions in the federal Circuit courts –could have precedential value

4. Step 3: Cert pool Each Justice cannot read each petition for certiorari, so they have an informal "cert pool" –Petitions for cert come in weekly –divided among the Justices (and their law clerks) Justice has 3-4 law clerks per Court term. –graduated from the best law schools –do legal research –help prepare questions that the Justice may ask during oral arguments –assist with the drafting of Court opinions Clerks read the petitions, write a brief memo about the case, and recommend whether to accept the case –Memos and recommendations then go to the “Justices' Conference”

5. Step 4: Justices’ Conference Court accepts between 100-150 cases a year from the cert pool The Court has its own set of rules for making final choices: –four of the nine Justices must vote to accept a case, called the RULE OF FOURRULE OF FOUR –Established by Judiciary Act of 1891

6. Step 5: Grant of writ By granting a writ of cert, the case is placed on the docket (official list of cases) The petitioner (the person/lawyer who wants the case heard) must write 40-50 page brief, a written statement that summarizes the case and laws/rulings that support it –The other party, known as the respondent, can also write a brief Petitioner and respondent can file briefs of a shorter length that respond to the other party's position. –U.S. Government (Solicitor General), can file a brief –With permission, groups can file an amicus curiae brief with arguments and recommendations for how the case should be decidedhow the case should be decided