Any lawyers care to explain once and for all?
A petition For a Writ of Certiorari is a legal request to have the Supreme Court agree to accept a case on appeal from a lower court.
Phillip Berg has asked Justice David Souter to grant such a Writ and Souter has taken the issue under advisement. Souter has asked Obama’s lawyers to submit their arguments by December 1st as to whether he should proceed to request a Writ of Certiorari. Supreme Court procedure is that 4 of the Justices must concur before the Supreme Court agrees to hear a case. The Supreme Court receives about 8,000 Petitions for a Writ of Certiorari a year and it usually accepts about 25 of those (which is called “granting cert”).
Granting Cert: the Supreme Court will hear a case that lost at a lower level.
Cert denied: the Supreme Court rejects the Petition for Writ of Certiorari and will not accept a case from a lower court on appeal.
This is the ORIGINAL scotus case #: 08-570
Title: Philip J. Berg, Petitioner v. Barack Obama, et al.
Docketed: October 31, 2008 (placed on the docket with SCOTUS)
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (this is the court from which Berg is appealing)
This is the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit case #: 08-4340
Rule 11: Berg is asserting that Supreme Court Rule 11 applies. His reasoning is that: “the Supreme Court may still grant certiorari under Rule 11 because this case “is of such imperative public importance as to justify deviation from normal appellate practice and to require immediate determination of this Court.” Supreme Court Rule 11.
Oct 30 2008: Petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment filed FOR THE original SCOTUS case # 08-570. (Response due December 1, 2008). This gives Obama the deadline to respond.
Oct 31 2008: Application (08A391) for an injunction pending disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, submitted to Justice Souter. NOTE THE NEW CASE # ... This NEW case number is an application for an injunction.
Nov 3 2008: Supplemental brief of applicant Philip J. Berg filed. This is a supplemental brief to the ORIGINAL case # 08-570.
Nov 3 2008: Application (08A391) denied by Justice Souter. THIS IS THE DENIAL OF THE APPLICATION FOR AN INJUNCTION.