Appeal to US Supreme Court - Explained
How are Cases Appealed to the Supreme Court
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 20th, 2024
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What is an Appeal to the US Supreme Court?
The function of the US Supreme Court is generally to provide appellate review of cases appealed from the US District Court of Appeals or from State Supreme Courts.
How do cases arrive before the US Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court lays out procedures by which cases arrive before it.
The US Supreme Court accepts cases via two primary methods, the procedures for which are codified at 28 USC 2101.
- Writ of Certiorari
- Appeal of a Losing Party
What is a Writ of Certiorari?
The Writ of Certiorari is a written demand issued by the court for the case to be transferred to the court for review.
Procedurally, 4 of 9 Justices must agree to accept the writ and review the case.
The second method is pursuant to appeal by any party to a case.
Generally, the court will only accept appeals of issues that have important and broad impact.
Further, the issues on appeal generally involve issues of constitutionality.
The Supreme Court may use this authority to review decisions by the highest court in any state or by any federal court.
As the highest appellate court, decisions by US Supreme Court are final.
That is, its decisions cannot be appealed further.
Also, its decisions provide precedent for all inferior courts.
This means that all lower courts (state and federal) must follow, interpret, and apply the law consistently with the interpretation of the Supreme Court.
The courts interpretation of the law actually becomes part of the law and forms the common law surrounding the statute.
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