2. Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court
C & E

3. EQs What are the steps in the Supreme Court’s decision-making process?
What factors influence Supreme Court decisions?

4. Key Terms docket brief majority opinion dissenting opinion
concurring opinion
stare decisis

5. Key Concepts
The Judicial Branch

6. How Cases Reach the Court
Conducts business from Oct until June/July
Each month
2 wks listening to oral arguments
2 wks writing opinions & studying new cases
Usually gets cases from lower courts
Sometimes lower courts ask for help
7,000+ applications to hear cases = court hears less than 200
Hears cases 4 out of 9 justices think should be heard

7. How Cases Reach the Court
Select cases that involve Const. Issues & affect nation
Accepted cases go to the docket
Calendar

8. What kinds of cases do the Supreme Court justices tend to accept?
Usually the justices take cases that involve important constitutional issues, such as freedom of speech, equal protection of the laws, or civil liberties. They also tend to select cases that involve legal, rather than political, issues, as well as those that affect the entire country rather than just the individuals or groups directly involved.

9. Steps in Decision Making
Written argument
Lawyers write briefs
Explains their side of case
Justices study briefs
Oral arguments
30minutes to present case orally
Justices ask tough questions
Conference
On Fri. Justices meet privately to discuss case
A majority vote decides case
Opinion writing
One justice writes a majority opinion
Presents views of maj. Of justices
5. Announcement
States facts,announces ruling,explains court’s reasoning

10. Steps in Decision Making
May have an unanimous opinion
One or more justices who disagree w/ a decision may write a dissenting opinion
A person who votes w/ majority but different reason may write a concurring opinion
Final step is announcing decision
Copies go to reporters & post on website

11. Why are written opinions important?
Written opinions set a precedent for lower courts to follow in future cases, and they communicate the Court’s view to Congress, the president, interest groups, and the public. Also, there is still time for justices to change their minds. An opinion may influence a justice to change his or her vote.

12. Reasons for Decisions The law is the most imp influence
Consider how lang. of Const applies to the case
Rely on precedents
Stare decisis
“let the decision stand”
This makes decisions predictable & consistent
Law must be flexible & adapt to changing times
Can overrule outdated precedents
Social conditions can influence decisions
When social cond change – new interpretation of law

13. Reasons for Decisions Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
Ruled racial segregation was legal w/in 14th Amendment
Separate but equal
1950’s society’s view of segregation had changed
Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, KS (1954)
Overturned Plessy & ruled separate but equal violated the 14th Amendment

14. Reasons for Decisions
Justices view of law & role of court influences decisions
See the world based on life experience
Personal views & relationships influence decisions

15. In both Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v
In both Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court applied the Fourteenth Amendment to questions of racial segregation. Why did the Court make different decisions in the two cases?
The social conditions of the time influenced their decisions. In the earlier Plessy case, segregation was common, and the Court upheld it. By the time of the later Brown case, society’s views on segregation were beginning to change. The Court’s decision in the case to strike down segregation reflected the changing social climate.