1. The U.S. Supreme Court: Procedures and Principles

2. Federal Court System 1 2 3 “Appellate Jurisdiction” “Original Jurisdiction”

3. 1 2

4. When at least FOUR of the NINE Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court decide they want to review a case they will issue a “Writ of Certiorari” (A request to look at a lower court’s decision; they don’t have to rule on it)

5. The U.S. Supreme Court only issues about 100 “Writs of Certiorari” a year (out of about 8,000 appeals). It generally issues a formal written opinion on only about 75 of these cases

6. “Briefs” “Petitioner” “Respondent”

7. Oral Arguments *Each side gets just 30 minutes to present their case to the justices Petitioner and Respondent

8. After hearing oral arguments the justices adjourn to discuss the case in private (this can take minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months!)

9. Once discussions are over the justices vote in secret; a simple majority (5 of the 9 justices) rules

10. The Supreme Court can issue one of four different “opinions” (written explanations of their decision):

11. 1) Unanimous Opinion- When all nine Justices agree

12. 2) Majority Opinion- The decision supported by MOST but not ALL of the justices Five

13. 3) Concurring Opinion- Opinion of a Justice or Justices who agree with the majority decision but for different reasons

14. 4) Dissenting Opinion- The opinion expressed by the losing minority of Justices on the Court

15. Principles of Supreme Court Jurisprudence (philosophy of legal reasoning) 1) Textualism – All judges will first look for a clear answer to a legal question in the text of the document in question – For the Supreme Court, the relevant text is often the Constitution 2) If there is no clear answer in the text, Supreme Court justices will follow one of the following philosophies in attempting to find the “right” answer: – A) Originalism: Attempting to discern the original intent of the founders – B) Living Constitution: Attempting to adapt the principles in the Constitution to current social and political conditions

16. Another Important Principle Stare Decisis – Whenever possible, the justices adhere to the principle of “what is already decided” – If a the Court has already decided a particular legal question, that question is generally considered to be decided for all time – But at times the Court will depart from this principle See: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

17. Judicial Philosophies Judicial Restraint – Deciding cases on the narrowest possible basis; – Leaving as much to the political process as possible – Virtually all judges will claim to follow this philosophy; – They will often accuse judges from different political camps of exercising: Judicial Activism – Using judicial decisions to advance a particular political agenda; – Sometimes referred to as, “legislating from the bench”