God save the United States and this Honorable Court! Prior to hearing oral argument, other business of the Court is transacted. On Monday mornings this includes the release of an Order List, a public report of Court actions including the acceptance and rejection of cases, and the admission of new members to the Court Bar. Opinions are typically released on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and on the third Monday of each sitting, when the Court takes the Bench but no arguments are heard.
The Court maintains this schedule each Term until all cases ready for submission have been heard and decided. In May and June the Court sits only to announce orders and opinions. The Court recesses at the end of June, but the work of the Justices is unceasing. During the summer they continue to analyze new petitions for review, consider motions and applications, and must make preparations for cases scheduled for fall argument.
The participating Justices divide their petitions among their law clerks. The law clerks, in turn, read the petitions assigned to them, write a brief memorandum about the case, and make a recommendation as to whether the case should be accepted or not. The Justice provides these memoranda and recommendations to the other Justices at a Justices' Conference.
If the Justices decide to accept a case grant a petition for certiorari , the case is placed on the docket. After the petitioner's brief has been filed, the other party, known as the respondent, is given a certain amount of time to file a respondent's brief.
This brief is also not to exceed 50 pages. After the initial petitions have been filed, the petitioner and respondent are permitted to file briefs of a shorter length that respond to the other party's respective position. If not directly involved in the case, the U. Government, represented by the Solicitor General, can file a brief on behalf of the government.
With the permission of the Court, groups that do not have a direct stake in the outcome of the case, but are nevertheless interested in it, may file what is known as an amicus curiae Latin for "friend of the court" brief providing their own arguments and recommendations for how the case should be decided.
By law, the U. Supreme Court's term begins on the first Monday in October and goes through the Sunday before the first Monday in October of the following year.
The Court hears oral arguments in cases from October through April. From October through December, arguments are heard during the first two weeks of each month. From January through April, arguments are heard on the last two weeks of each month. During each two-week session, oral arguments are heard on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays only unless the Court directs otherwise.
Oral arguments are open to the public. Typically, two cases are heard each day, beginning at 10 a. Each case is allotted an hour for arguments. During this time, lawyers for each party have a half hour to make their best legal case to the Justices. Most of this time, however, is spent answering the Justices' questions. The Justices tend to view oral arguments not as a forum for the lawyers to rehash the merits of the case as found in their briefs, but for answering any questions that the Justices may have developed while reading their briefs.
The Solicitor General usually argues cases in which the U. Government is a party. If the U. 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. Over the years Congress has passed various acts to change this number, fluctuating from a low of five to a high of ten. The Judiciary Act of fixed the number of Justices at nine and no subsequent change to the number of Justices has occurred.
Do the Justices have any responsibilities other than hearing and deciding cases? The federal circuit courts of appeals and district courts are organized into 13 federal circuits and each Justice is responsible for emergency applications and other matters from one or more of these circuits. For example, individual Justices may be asked to halt the implementation of a circuit court order, set bond for a defendant, or stop the deportation of an alien.
Justices are also asked to act on applications for a stay of execution. Do all of the Justices have to be present in order to hear a case? A quorum of six Justices is required to decide a case. Justices may also participate in a case by listening to audio recordings of the oral arguments and reading the transcripts.
How many cases are appealed to the Court each year and how many cases does the Court hear? The Court receives approximately 7,, petitions for a writ of certiorari each Term. The Court grants and hears oral argument in about 80 cases.
When did the Supreme Court first meet? The first meeting of the Court was scheduled to take place in New York City on Monday, February 1, , but the lack of a quorum only three of the six Justices were present delayed the official opening until the following day, Tuesday, February 2, Who were the members of the first Supreme Court?
Where did the Court first meet? Where else has the Court met? From February to the present, the Court has met in the city of Washington.
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