A petition for certiorari before judgment, in the
Supreme Court of the United States, is a petition for a
writ of certiorari
In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
in which the Supreme Court is asked to immediately review the decision of a
United States District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...
, without an appeal having been decided by a
United States Court of Appeals
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
, for the purpose of expediting the proceedings and obtaining a final decision.
Certiorari before judgment is rarely granted. Supreme Court Rule 11 provides that this procedure will be followed "only upon a showing that the case is of such imperative public importance as to justify deviation from normal appellate practice and to require immediate determination in this Court." A writ of certiorari before judgment may be granted only in federal cases, and is not necessary in those cases where a statute authorizes a direct appeal from a District Court to the Supreme Court.
Well-known cases in which the Supreme Court has granted certiorari before judgment and heard the case on an expedited basis have included ''
Ex parte Quirin'' (1942), ''
U.S. v. United Mine Workers'' (1947), ''
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer'' (1952), ''
U.S. v. Nixon'' (1974), ''
Dames & Moore v. Regan'' (1981), ''
Northern Pipeline Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co.'' (1982), ''
U.S. v. Booker'' (2005), ''
Department of Commerce v. New York'' (2019), and ''
Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson'' (2021).
Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, No. 21-463
In '' U.S. v. Windsor'' (2013), both sides filed petitions for certiorari before judgment, but it was only granted ''after'' judgment by the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate jur ...
.
List of petitions granted
The Supreme Court granted certiorari before judgment only three times between 1988 and 2004, and zero times from then until February 2019. Since 2019, the court has granted certiorari before judgment in more cases.
See also
* Shadow docket
Notes
References
*S. Shapiro et al., ''Supreme Court Practice'' (BNA Books, 10th ed. 2013), section 2.4
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Supreme Court of the United States
United States appellate procedure