The U.S. Supreme Court today begins its annual "long conference," during which the justices decide which of the over 1,000 cases filed over the past summer the Supreme Court will hear and decide.
With the Senate not scheduled to cast its confirmation vote on President Bush's nominee for Chief Justice John G. Roberts until late this week, Justice John Paul Stevens will preside over most, if not all of of the long conference.
Parties who want the Supreme Court to hear their case do so by "petitioning" the Court to issue a "writ of certiorari" (sur-shee-ory). Certiorari is a writ, or legal order, issued by a higher court to a lower court to review a decision of the lower court. If the Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari, it is agreeing to hear the case.
The long-conference is an important phase of the Supreme Court's annual cycle. The long-conference sets the agenda for cases that will be heard in the fall and early winter of the year and decided during the late winter, or spring and early summer of the following year.
Some major cases likely to be given serious consideration during the 2005 long-conference of the Supreme Court include:
Illinois v. Bartels - Involves the permissibility of police questioning under the Fourth Amendment.
Bannon v. Palm Beach County Sch. Dist. - Involves the requirement of a public school district to remove religious references from a school mural project.
Lab. Corp. v. Metabolite Labs. - Involves the validity of federal laws prohibiting the patenting of "laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas."
During its 2005-2006 session, the Supreme Court is scheduled hear oral arguments from Oct. 3, 2005 through April 26, 2006. Decisions in these cases will be announced on Mondays in May through June, 2006.
Since President Bush has yet to nominate a replacement for retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, it appears likely that the court will begin hearing cases on Oct. 3 with only 8 justices. In the event of 4-4 tie votes, the decision of the lower court is upheld.
