Appeals

Petition for Certiorari

A petition for a writ of certiorari asks the Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision, which it agrees to do only rarely.

The petition is due within ninety days of the judgment below and is judged less on whether the decision was wrong than on whether the question matters nationally, most often because the circuits are split on it.

Four of the nine justices must vote to grant. The Court takes a tiny fraction of the petitions filed each term, and a denial sets no precedent and says nothing about the merits.

The Court also uses summary dispositions. It can grant, vacate, and remand in light of a recent decision without full briefing, which is a meaningful outcome that is easy to misread as a denial. A brief in opposition, and often amicus briefs at the petition stage, accompany the process, so the certiorari docket itself can generate substantial public argument before the Court decides whether to hear anything.