Unit VI Lesson 3

Intro to the U.S. Supreme Court

Essential Question:

• What are the basic civil rights

and liberties of Americans?

• How have significant decisions

of the Supreme Court affected

our basic rights?

• What are the strengths and

weaknesses of court decisions

as instruments of social

change?

Federal Court

System

1

2

3

“Appellate Jurisdiction”

“Original Jurisdiction”

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Miranda v Arizona

Arizona

Ernesto Miranda1963

The U.S. Supreme Court can review cases from BOTH the federal

AND STATE court systems if they believe there is a

constitutional issue involved

How does the U.S. Supreme Court

decide which cases they will look at?

8,000 Appeals

Each Year

When at least FOUR of the NINE Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court

decide they want to review a case they will issue a “Writ of Certiorari”(A request to look at a lower court’s decision; they don’t have to rule on it)

12

34

Writ of Certiorari

“The Rule of Four”

“Abstain”

Or

The U.S. Supreme Court only issues about 100 “Writs of

Certiorari” a year (out of about 8,000 appeals). It generally issues

a formal written opinion on only about 75 of these cases

1 2

3 4

“What Happens Next?”

“Abstain”

“Briefs”

“Petitioner”

“Respondent”

Oral Arguments

*Each side gets

just 30 minutes

to present their

case to the

justices

Petitioner

and

Respondent

After hearing oral arguments the justices adjourn to discuss

the case in private (this can take minutes, hours, days,

weeks, or even months!

Once discussions are over the justices vote in secret; a

simple majority (5 of the 9 justices) rules

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

The Supreme Court can issue one of four different “opinions”

(written explanations of their decision):

1) Unanimous Opinion- When all nine

Justices agree

2) Majority Opinion- The decision supported

by MOST but not ALL of the justices

Five, Six, Seven, or Eight of Nine

3) Concurring Opinion- Opinion of a Justice or

Justices who agree with the majority decision but

for different reasons

4) Dissenting Opinion- The opinion expressed by

the losing minority of Justices on the Court

8-1

Almost all of the cases the U.S. Supreme

Court rules on come from:

A.It’s original jurisdiction

B.It’s appellate jurisdiction

C.Instruction from the president

D.Petitions from Congress

A writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme

Court indicates that the Court:

A.Will review a lower court decision

B.Has rendered a decision on a case

C.Has decided not to hear an appeal

D.Plans to overturn one of its previous

rulings

Which of the following statements about writs

of certiorari is accurate?

A.Cases appealed by the president are

automatically granted certiorari

B.The Supreme Court grants certiorari for very

few of the thousands of cases appealing for it

C.The Supreme Court has historically granted

certiorari to most of the cases appealing for it

D.The Supreme Court does not grant certiorari

to cases involving state laws

1.Unanimous Opinion

2.Majority Opinion

3.Concurring Opinion

4. Dissenting Opinion

B. When all nine Justices agree

A. The opinion of a Justice that

DISAGREES with the majority decision

C. Opinion of a Justice who agrees with

the majority decision but for different

reasons

D. The decision supported by MOST but

not ALL of the justices

Match the Opinion to the Definition