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Bush Campaign's Supreme Court Appeal | |
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Update: The U.S. Supreme Court, on Nov. 24, stated that it would consider the appeal filed by the Bush Campaign. Oral arguments will be heard on December 1.
Can the Supreme Court
consider the Bush campaign's appeals? "The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which
the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between
a State and Citizens of another state;--between Citizens of different States,--between
Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects."
The jurisdiction, or range of cases the Supreme Court may consider is
established by
Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution:
Under that broad jurisdiction, there are very few, if any, cases the Supreme Court cannot hear. It is, after all, the highest court of "last resort" in America.
Will
the Supreme Court consider the Bush Campaign's Appeal?
Despite its wide-ranging jurisdiction, the U.S. Supreme Court hears only a small fraction of the hundreds of cases referred to it every year.
Parties who want the Supreme Court to their case do so by "petitioning" the Court to issue a "writ of certiorari" (sur-shee-ory). Certiorari is a writ, or legal order, issued by a higher court to a lower court to review a decision of the lower court. If the Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari, it is agreeing to hear an appeal.
[Download the Bush campaign's request for writ of certiorari (.pdf document)]
In deciding whether to issue a writ of certiorari and hear a case, the Supreme Court applies its "Rule 10. - Considerations Governing Review on Certiorari."
Rule
10. starts out by explaining that it is completely up to the Court to decide
what cases it will hear. It then goes on to offer what the Court refers to as
the "character of the reasons" for which the Court will consider a
case.
"(a) a United States court of appeals has entered a decision in conflict with
the decision of another United States court of appeals on the same important
matter; has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with a
decision by a state court of last resort; or has so far departed from the
accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a
departure by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of this Court's
supervisory power; (b) a state court of last resort has decided an important federal question in
a way that conflicts with the decision of another state court of last resort or
of a United States court of appeals; (c) a state court or a United States court of appeals has decided an
important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by
this Court, or has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts
with relevant decisions of this Court." Attorneys for the Gore campaign hope the Supreme Court will find that
condition (b) or (c) of Rule 10 apply to the decisions of the Florida courts and
agree to hear their appeals. Clearly they also hope the Supreme Court will
consider the situation to be. "an important federal question." But will the Supreme Court consider the Bush appeals, or any appeals related
to the Presidential Election? Historically, the Supreme Court has respected the separation of power and
avoided issues involving state laws in general and the ballot box in particular.
However, if the justices decide that the rights of voters in Florida were
compromised, they may vote to hear the appeals. The Supreme Court traditionally agrees to consider a case when four justices
vote to do so. One of the main things any court of law looks at in making decisions is the
answer to the question, "What was done the last time this happened?"
Of course, none of "this" has ever happened before. Next page > Why Did the Court Decide to Hear
Bush's Appeal? > Page 1, 2, 3,
4
Here are two great resources related to this story:
Both are from About Guide to Legal Current Events Paul S. Reed, J.D.
