Government is not a party, the Solicitor still may be allotted time to express the government's interests in the case. During oral arguments, each side has approximately 30 minutes to present its case, however, attorneys are not required to use the entire time.
The petitioner argues first, then the respondent. If the petitioner reserves time for rebuttal, the petitioner speaks last. After the Court is seated, the Chief Justice acknowledges counsel for the petitioner, who already is standing at the podium. The attorney then begins: "Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court. Only the Chief Justice is addressed as Mr. Chief Justice. Justices, typically, ask questions throughout each presentation. However, in courtroom or classroom simulations, to put student attorneys at ease, student Justices do not ask questions for the first two minutes of each side's argument.
Before leaving the podium after making the initial presentation, counsel for the petitioner may reserve some time for rebuttal after the respondent's counsel has presented. The petitioner — not the Court — is responsible for keeping track of the time remaining for rebuttal. In typical program simulations, more than one student attorney argues each side. In that instance, they should inform the student Marshal before the court session begins how they wish to divide their time. Usually, the first student attorney to speak also handles the rebuttal.
When oral arguments are concluded, the Justices have to decide the case. They do so at what is known as the Justices' Conference. When Court is in session, there are two conferences scheduled per week — one on Wednesday afternoon and one on Friday afternoon.
At their Wednesday conference, the Justices talk about the cases heard on Monday. At their Friday conference, they discuss cases heard on Tuesday and Wednesday. When Court is not in session, no Wednesday conference is held. Before going into the Conference, the Justices frequently discuss the relevant cases with their law clerks, seeking to get different perspectives on the case. At the end of these sessions, sometimes the Justices have a fairly good idea of how they will vote in the case; other times, they are still uncommitted.
According to Supreme Court protocol, only the Justices are allowed in the Conference room at this time—no police, law clerks, secretaries, etc. The Chief Justice calls the session to order and, as a sign of the collegial nature of the institution, all the Justices shake hands.
The first order of business, typically, is to discuss the week's petitions for certiorari , i. After the petitions for certiorari are dealt with, the Justices begin to discuss the cases that were heard since their last Conference. According to Supreme Court protocol, all Justices have an opportunity to state their views on the case and raise any questions or concerns they may have.
Each Justice speaks without interruptions from the others. The Chief Justice makes the first statement, then each Justice speaks in descending order of seniority, ending with the most junior justice—the one who has served on the court for the fewest years. When each Justice is finished speaking, the Chief Justice casts the first vote, and then each Justice in descending order of seniority does likewise until the most junior justice casts the last vote.
After the votes have been tallied, the Chief Justice, or the most senior Justice in the majority if the Chief Justice is in the dissent, assigns a Justice in the majority to write the opinion of the Court. The most senior justice in the dissent can assign a dissenting Justice to write the dissenting opinion. If a Justice agrees with the outcome of the case, but not the majority's rationale for it, that Justice may write a concurring opinion.
The idea that a case winds its way through the system and when it arrives at the Supreme Court, the justices must hear the case is inaccurate and completely impractical. So, cutting right to the chase, it is theoretically and practically possible that any election-related case that rapidly climbs through the court system and ends up seeking review by the Supreme Court could end there, with a refusal by the court to hear the case.
The most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court is on appeal from a federal circuit court, which itself is a court of appeals. So one of the parties would be appealing the decision reached on appeal. A party to a case who wants to appeal a decision of a federal circuit court files a petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, or cert for short. Here, the Supreme Court can decide to get involved by accepting the case, or it can simply decline to hear the case, which would make the decision of the federal appellate court a final one, not reviewable elsewhere.
While voting in this election is something that is carried out by the states, there are many federal regulations and laws that can be brought into play, including federal regulations on fair voting, voter suppression and an almost infinite number of angles that could be raised by claimants in a federal court. A case can also make its way to the Supreme Court when one of the parties files an appeal from a state supreme court.
Each state has its own supreme court that is the final authority on state law. The vast majority of cases in any given state end there. Again, the Supreme Court is highly selective about any case it chooses to hear. Could an election case come to the court from a state supreme court? In fact, this may be the most likely scenario. State supreme courts would be the ultimate decision makers in any vote-counting process scenario within the state.
Imagine a case that challenges the propriety of vote-counting procedures and policies within a state begins to wind its way through state courts. A one-size-fits-all discussion of the state courts is tricky because each state has a different system.
Generally, your case will begin in a local trial court. In most states, the court of last resort gets to pick only the cases they wish to decide. If your state court of last resort rules against you, or refuses to hear your case altogether, then you must petition the U.
Supreme Court to hear your case. In the federal system, the trial courts are called United States District Courts. There are currently ninety-four district courts. There is at least one district court in each state and one each in the territories. Some states have more than one district court, such as California, New York and Texas.
Once the District Court rules against you, the next stop on the way to the Supreme Court is one of the thirteen federal courts of appeals. Two are located in Washington D. Circuit and the Federal Circuit. The other eleven circuits are spread out geographically and are identified by number. Generally, an appeal to your designated circuit court is decided by a three-judge panel.
If you lose in the circuit court, you have the choice to either ask the circuit court for a rehearing or to bring your appeal to the U.
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