Changes

The [[United States]] [[Supreme Court]] is the final authority on the law.  It accepts fewer than 100 cases a year out of 7500 or so.  The overall odds of having the [[Supreme Court]] hear your case are barely more than 1%.  Generally one side must petition the [[Supreme Court]] for a [[writ of certiorari]] (Latin meaning “to be informed of”).  Informally, this is simply known as seeking “cert.”  In the few cases that the [[Supreme Court]] agrees to hear, it “grants cert.” to review the case.

The [[United States]] [[Supreme Court]] is the final authority on the law.  It accepts fewer than 100 cases a year out of 7500 or so.  The overall odds of having the [[Supreme Court]] hear your case are barely more than 1%.  Generally one side must petition the [[Supreme Court]] for a [[writ of certiorari]] (Latin meaning “to be informed of”).  Informally, this is simply known as seeking “cert.”  In the few cases that the [[Supreme Court]] agrees to hear, it “grants cert.” to review the case.

The main criterion for “granting cert.” is whether there is a disagreement between two or more federal courts of appeals on a legal issue.  For example, the Seventh Circuit (in [[Chicago]]) held that the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the [[First Amendment]], while the Ninth Circuit (in [[San Francisco]]) recently held that it does.  This creates a sharp conflict between different areas of the country, which only the [[Supreme Court]] can resolve.  We filed a brief in support of cert. in this case, and expect a ruling very soon, perhaps even this week.

The main criterion for “granting cert.” is whether there is a disagreement between two or more federal courts of appeals on a legal issue.  For example, the Seventh Circuit (in [[Chicago]]) held that the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the [[First Amendment]], while the Ninth Circuit (in [[San Francisco]]) recently held that it does.  This creates a sharp conflict between different areas of the country, which only the [[Supreme Court]] can resolve.  We filed a brief in support of cert. in this case.  The Supreme Court overturned the [[Ninth Circuit]] decision on procedural grounds, postponing for a future case a resolution on the merits of the dispute.

Another factor determining whether the [[Supreme Court]] will hear a case is its importance.  An example would be a case directly involving the [[president]].  If the [[president]] is not involved, however, a case must be tremendously important to trigger review solely on this basis.   

Another factor determining whether the [[Supreme Court]] will hear a case is its importance.  An example would be a case directly involving the [[president]].  If the [[president]] is not involved, however, a case must be tremendously important to trigger review solely on this basis.