Four Justices out of the nine are enough to grant a writ of certiorari (which is the term used for the Supreme Court deciding to hear a case).
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The US Supreme Court uses the "rule of four" to determine whether a case will be placed on the docket. Four justices must agree to grant certiorari.
three forths vote
The party must request that the court grant a writ of certiorari.
For a case to be heard before the U. S. Supreme Court there must be a quorum. This requires at least six Justices to be present. There is a total of nine Justices on the Supreme Court but illness or recusals could cause less than 9 on a case. For a decision to be rendered it requires a majority of the Justices hearing the case. If all Justices are present the majority would require 5 or more to met this requirement.
After all th opinions have been written and finalized, the justices announced their final decisions. The decisions are from the majority vote of the justices
The Supreme Court requires a simple majority vote for a decision. If all nine justices are present, the closest possible vote would be 5-4.
Virtually anyone can attend oral arguments in the US Supreme Court, because most cases are heard in open court and there are special accommodations for the general public, justices' guests and law clerks, members of the Supreme Court Bar, etc. Other than the nine justices, the only people allowed at bar (on the justices' side of the fence) are the attorneys arguing the case, their co-counsel (if applicable), and any amici ("friends" who are not party to the case but have an interest in its outcome) who have been given leave to speak before the court.
During a sitting session, the justices hold case conferences on Thursday and Friday following the oral arguments heard earlier in the week.
WhenÊ a writ of Certiorari is denied it means that whatever case was asked to be reviewed or heardÊby the higher court will not be reviewed or heard, for whatever reason.
The United States Supreme Court is the ultimate court of last resort. While the cases heard by lower level trial courts and appellate courts can be appealed to state supreme courts and federal appellate courts, no other court looks over the shoulder of the U.S. Supreme Court. The opinions issued by the nine justices on this court are final.
Theoretically, the justices themselves do. If they are interested in hearing a particular case, they issue a writ of certiorari (sometimes referred to as "granting cert"). If four of the justices believe the case should be heard before the full court, then it is granted certiorari and the case is added to the schedule. In practice, because the court gets about a hundred times as many petitions as it can possibly review, law clerks working for the justices (in what's called the "cert pool") have a significant say in which petitions get recommended for a hearing and which ones do not.
If a US Supreme Court justice has a conflict of interest with regard to a case being heard by the Court, he (or she) should recuse (disqualify, not participate) himself. While this is considered the best course of action, justices are not required to recuse themselves; the decision is voluntary.There have been times when justices sat on cases in which they had a conflict of interest, raising complaints from other members of the court and general public, but there is no remedy for the problem at the moment.
When the case of Terry Versus Ohio was heard the Justices sitting on the Supreme Court were as follows: Chief Justice Earl Warren; Associate Justices: Hugo Lafayette Black, Abe Fortas, William J. Brennan, Jr., John Marshall Harlan II, Byron R. White, and Thurgood Marshall.
The Rule of Four. At least four justices must vote to grant certiorari (review the case) for it to be heard.