Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court -...
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Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court Chapter 8.4 P206-210
Transcript of Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court -...
Deciding Cases at the
Supreme Court
Chapter 8.4
P206-210
How Cases Reach the Court
The Supreme Court conducts business each year from October until June or July.
Each month, the justices spend two weeks listening to oral arguments on cases and two weeks writing opinions and studying new cases.
How Cases Reach the Court
The court receives most of its cases on appeal from a lower court, but sometimes a lower court asks for a ruling because it is not sure how to apply the law in a case.
Of the more than 7,000 applications each year, the Court agrees to hear fewer than 200.
How Cases Reach the Court
The Court accepts cases that four of the nine justices agree the Court should review.
They usually select cases that involve important constitutional issues and cases that affect the entire nation.
How Cases Reach the Court
Accepted cases go on the Court docket, or calendar.
How Cases Reach the Court
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.
Steps in Decision Making
Each accepted case goes through five steps: written arguments, oral arguments, conference, opinion writing, and announcement.
The lawyers first prepare a written briefthat explains their side of the case.
The justices study the briefs.
Steps in Decision Making
Next, each side gets 30 minutes to present its case orally.
Then the justices ask tough questions.
On Fridays, the justices meet privately to discuss the case.
A majority vote decides the case.
Steps in Decision Making
After the Court reaches a decision, one justice writes a majority opinion.
It presents the views of the majority of justices.
The opinion states the facts, announces the ruling, and explains the Court’s reasoning in reaching the decision.
Steps in Decision Making
The Court may also write a unanimous opinion when all the justices vote the same way.
One or more justices who disagree with the majority may write dissentingopinions.
A justice who votes with the majority, but for different reasons, may write a concurring opinion.
Steps in Decision Making
Finally, the Court announces its decision.
Printed copies of the opinion go to news reporters.
A copy is posted on the Court’s Web site.
Steps in Decision Making
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.
Reasons for Court Decisions
The law is supposed to be the most important influence on a justice’s decision.
Justices consider how the language of the Constitution applies to the case.
They rely heavily on precedents, following the principle of stare decisis—“let the decision stand.”
Reasons for Court Decisions
By following precedents, courts make the law predictable and consistent.
At the same time, the law must be flexible to adapt to changing times.
The justices can overrule outdated precedents.
Reasons for Court Decisions
Social conditions also influence Court decisions.
When social conditions change, the Court may make new interpretations of the law.
Reasons for Court Decisions
For example, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment permitted racial segregation.
However, by the 1950s, society’s views on segregation were beginning to change.
In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Court ruled that school segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment, overturning the precedent of “separate but equal.”
Reasons for Court Decisions
Justices’ views of the law and the role of the courts also influenced their decisions.
Like all human beings, justices see the world based on their own life experiences.
Their personal views and relationships influence their decisions.
Reasons for Court Decisions
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?
Reasons for Court Decisions
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.
