None. The US Supreme Court no longer has mandatory jurisdiction over any cases, including disputes between the states, where their jurisdiction is also exclusive. The Supreme Court has full discretion over cases heard under both original and appellate jurisdiction.
The US Supreme Court no longer has mandatory jurisdiction over any type of case (including disputes between the states). The Court has full discretion over which cases it hears under both original and appellate jurisdiction.
Most US Supreme Court appellate cases involve matters of constitutional law, interpretation and application of federal law, or less often, controversies involving US Treaties. The Court hears disputes between the states under its original (trial) jurisdiction.
Cases reach the US Supreme Court in one of two ways:
Original jurisdiction means the Supreme Court is the first to hear the case, acting as a trial court. Most cases heard under original jurisdiction involve disputes between the states, and account for only a tiny percent of the Court's work each year. The Supreme Court is constitutionally required to hear these cases.
Appellate jurisdiction means the case has already been to trial, and the losing party believes his (or her) rights were violated, or the decision was wrong due to a serious legal or procedural error. Before the Supreme Court can hear an issue under appellate jurisdiction, it (usually) must exhaust all other appeals. Most of the Supreme Court's caseload consists of suits being appealed from the federal court system (about two-thirds) or state court systems (about one-third).
In 2009, the US Supreme Court received nearly 8,000 petitions for Writ of Certiorari, or requests for the justices to review a legal matter on final appeal. Clearly, there is no way nine justices can hear and decide 8,000 cases, so they use their judicial discretion to choose approximately 1-2% that they consider most worthy of their time.
Appellate Selection Criteria
According to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist in his book, The Supreme Court: How It Was, How It Is, the decision whether to hear a case hinges on three major factors(paraphrased):
In addition, the case must involve a federal question(questions of federal or constitutional law). The goal of the US Supreme Court is fair legal application and consistency of decisions in relation to the Constitution, federal law, and established precedents.
For more detailed information, see Related Questions, below.
The US Supreme Court is not required to hear any specific cases (including disputes between the states, over which it has exclusive jurisdiction). Mandatory jurisdiction was abolished in 1988; the Court has full discretion over case selection.
Usually only ones that have passed through all the previous levels of court. Nothing says the US Supreme court has to hear certain cases so they only take those that peak their interest.
The Supreme Court receives about 10,000 petitions per year but only hears about 80. Some factors that the Supreme Court considers when deciding which cases to hear are; conflict of law, highly unusual cases, and the disregard of the lower court.
The Supreme Court is brought a large number of cases every year to review, but they do not have to hear all of them. They choose from cases that have already gone through state or federal courts where one of the parties was unhappy with the previous decision.
There is not a jurisdiction that allows a court to hear any type of case. Even the Supreme Court is limited in the types of cases they hear.
Yes, the state supreme courts are compelled to hear all death row appeals; but No, the US Supreme Court is not required to hear capital appeals.Death row appeals are part of the mandatory jurisdiction of State supreme courts, but the US Supreme Court is no longer required to review capital punishment cases. The Judiciary Act of 1925 allowed the US Supreme Court discretion to determine what cases to hear, with a few exceptions. Congress eliminated mandatory jurisdiction over death penalty cases in 1988.
The Supreme Court decides cases that are appealed by a lower court; a lower court has made a decision and one of the parties feels strongly enough that the decision was wrong that they make an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court reviews the cases and determines which ones they will hear, they have the ability to decline to review a case. The Supreme Court doesn't hear only appeals, there are situations where it is the court of original jurisdiction. In situations where there is a disagreement between states, the Supreme Court has the authority to decide.
The Supreme Court hears three kinds of cases. Cases appealed from lower federal courts account for two-thirds of the cases they hear. They also hear cases appealed from state's supreme courts, and sometimes hear cases that have not been previously heard by a lower court, such as between one state's government and another.
The Supreme Court justices hear cases in the courtroom of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.
The Supreme Court alone decides which cases, and how many they will hear.
The Supreme Court alone decides which cases, and how many they will hear.
The US Supreme Court does not have mandatory appellate jurisdiction any more. State supreme courts are still required to review death penalty cases.
A limit not placed on the supreme court is that they get to choice which cases they want to hear. The supreme court holds the full say so in which cases they choice and they only hear few cases throughout the year.
The US Supreme Court is not required to take any case. In general, they hear those that present Constitutional issues.
The American legal system hears civil and criminal cases. A court case can go all the way to the Supreme Court to be heard.
The Supreme Court hears any cases that involve the interpretation of the Constitution.
Congress has authority to set or change the US Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court itself has full discretion over which cases it chooses to hear under its appellate jurisdiction.
Constitution, treaties, or Federal Laws
The Supreme Court takes substantially all of its cases on appeal. Parties displeased with the ruling in their cases may request a writ of certiorari praying that the Supreme Court hear their case. The Supreme Court reviews the requests and chooses which cases to hear. Typically, the only cases granted certiorari are those that implicate important and contested questions of Constitutional significance or public policy.