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How a Legal Case Reaches the Supreme Court, Plantiff files a complaint…
How a Legal Case Reaches the Supreme Court
Certiorari (Group 2)
A Certiorari is when the Supreme Court orders a lower court to send up the records of a case, so that they may do a case review. The Supreme Court issues a Certiorari on the basis national significance, conflicting lower courts, or precedntial value.
In order to draft a Certiorari, a lawyer must lose a case in a lower court. The lawyer then must request for the case to be heard at a higher court either the Federal circuit court or The Supreme Court.
Merits of the case/brief (Group 3)
They have petitions and typically the cases that get to the Supreme Court are topics that are very passionate to the person bringing it there.
Merits for a SCOTUS case: big principles, implications beyond the case, principled decision with broad impact
Supreme Court clerk delivers form with stringent formatting requirements for the brief.
Tactics for Lawyers writing briefs: narrow, refine, research, sharpen and focus arguments
Amicus brief/oral arguments (Group 4)
Needs to be a formal written document
People outside the case who have an opinion, and will be directly affected by the outcome
Many people practice their arguments against other lawyers first, like a mock court. After Introductions there is a question and answer period
Amicus curaie = friend of the court
Plaintiff/Defendant (Group 1)
Plantiff identifies some type of harm or wrongful action.
2
Plantiff files a complaint with the court and serves a copy of the complaint on the defendant.
The defendant is entitled to respond using as many arguments as they want even if they are contradictory.
Court of appeals
If the Supreme court is pentitioned directly then Four of Nine Justices most vote to grant a Writ of Certiorari.