To bring a case to the Supreme Court, you file a petition for a writ of certiorari within 90 days of the lower court’s judgment, asking the justices to review a decision from a federal court of appeals or a state court of last resort. The Court accepts only about 65 to 80 of the 7,000 to 8,000 petitions filed each term, so the petition has to do more than show the lower court got it wrong. It has to convince at least four justices that the legal question matters far beyond your case.
Where Your Case Has to Be Before You Petition
Almost every case reaches the Supreme Court on appeal. The Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions from the federal Courts of Appeals and from state courts of last resort when those decisions involve a question of federal law. That means a trial, a loss, and at least one unsuccessful appeal before the Supreme Court will look at the case.
The Constitution also gives the Court original jurisdiction over a narrow set of disputes, mainly cases between two or more states and cases affecting ambassadors or foreign ministers. If your dispute isn’t one of those, this route isn’t available to you, and original jurisdiction cases follow their own procedures.
The 90-Day Filing Deadline
A petition for a writ of certiorari must be filed within 90 days after the lower court enters its judgment, or within 90 days of the court’s denial of a petition for rehearing, whichever is later.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 13 – Review on Certiorari: Time for Petitioning Miss it and the case is over. There is no automatic extension.
A single justice can grant up to 60 additional days for good cause, but the application must be filed with the Clerk at least 10 days before the petition is due and must specifically explain why more time is needed.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 13 – Review on Certiorari: Time for Petitioning The rules describe these extensions as “not favored,” so a vague scheduling excuse won’t work.
What the Court Looks For
The Supreme Court is not an error-correction tribunal. Review is discretionary, and Rule 10 says a petition will be granted “only for compelling reasons.”2Legal Information Institute. Rule 10 – Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari The rule itself points to three situations that draw the justices’ attention:
- Conflicting lower-court decisions. When federal Courts of Appeals reach opposite conclusions on the same legal issue, the law means different things in different parts of the country, and the Court steps in to impose a single interpretation.3Cornell Law School LII / Legal Information Institute. Circuit Split
- Important and unresolved federal questions. A significant question of federal law that no Supreme Court decision has addressed can prompt the justices to set a nationwide precedent.2Legal Information Institute. Rule 10 – Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari
- Lower courts departing from Supreme Court precedent. When a ruling below directly contradicts existing Supreme Court doctrine, the Court may intervene to enforce its own authority.2Legal Information Institute. Rule 10 – Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari
Rule 10 also treats a court of appeals “so far depart[ing] from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings” as grounds for the Court’s supervisory review. If your case doesn’t map onto at least one of these categories, the petition faces very long odds.
What Goes Into the Petition
The petition is the document that formally asks the Court to hear the case. Its centerpiece is the “Questions Presented,” which frames the exact legal issues you want resolved. The petition must also include a concise history of the case, the basis for the Court’s jurisdiction, and a legal argument explaining why the case meets the standard for review, along with copies of the lower-court opinions and any relevant orders.4Legal Information Institute. Rule 14 – Content of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
Rule 14 warns that “failure of a petitioner to present with accuracy, brevity, and clarity whatever is essential to ready and adequate understanding of the points requiring consideration is sufficient reason for the Court to deny a petition.”4Legal Information Institute. Rule 14 – Content of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari A rambling petition gives the Court an independent reason to reject the case before ever reaching the merits.
The formatting rules are unusually exacting. Paid petitions must be printed in a 6⅛-by-9¼-inch booklet with a white cover. The petition itself cannot exceed 9,000 words, counting footnotes but excluding the table of contents, questions presented, and table of authorities.5Legal Information Institute. Rule 33 – Document Preparation: Booklet Format; 8 1/2- by 11-Inch Paper Format Cover colors are prescribed: white for the petition, orange for the opposing brief, tan for the reply.6Supreme Court. Booklet-Format Specification Chart
What It Costs, and What to Do If You Can’t Pay
A paid petition carries a $300 docketing fee. The booklet printing requirement adds more, often thousands of dollars, because the format demands professional typesetting and binding. Those costs put paid petitions out of reach for many people.
If you can’t afford the fee and printing, you can file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. The motion asks the Court to waive the docketing fee and let you submit documents on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper instead of the booklet format. It must be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration showing you can’t pay, including a statement of your assets. If the lower court already appointed counsel for you, a citation to the appointment order is enough and no separate affidavit is required.7Legal Information Institute. Rule 39 – Proceedings In Forma Pauperis IFP petitions on letter-size paper are capped at 40 pages instead of a word count.5Legal Information Institute. Rule 33 – Document Preparation: Booklet Format; 8 1/2- by 11-Inch Paper Format
Do You Need a Supreme Court Bar Attorney?
You are not legally required to hire an attorney to petition the Court, and inmates who qualify for IFP status can file a single original copy of their petition without counsel. But filing pro se at this level is swimming against a powerful current. Every document filed by a represented party must be signed by an attorney who is a member of the Supreme Court Bar, and the Clerk’s office notes that pro se filings still must comply with the substance of the Court’s rules.8Supreme Court of the United States. Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States
Admission to the Supreme Court Bar requires at least three years of active membership in the highest court of a state, no disciplinary actions during that period, two sponsors who are already Bar members, and a $200 fee.9Supreme Court of the United States. Instructions for Admission to the Bar If your own lawyer isn’t a member, they will need to apply for admission or refer you to someone who already has it.
How the Court Decides Whether to Take Your Case
After docketing, the opposing party (the respondent) may file a brief in opposition arguing why the Court should decline review. The petitioner can then file a short reply.4Legal Information Institute. Rule 14 – Content of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Outside parties can file amicus curiae briefs at this stage, though the Court disfavors motions for leave to file amicus briefs before it has decided whether to take the case.10Legal Information Institute. Rule 37 – Brief for an Amicus Curiae
The justices discuss petitions at private conferences, typically held on Wednesdays and Fridays when the Court is in session.11United States Courts. Supreme Court Procedures Only the nine justices are in the room. For the Court to accept a case, at least four justices must vote to hear it, a threshold known as the Rule of Four.12Legal Information Institute. Certiorari
Most petitions are denied. A denial doesn’t mean the Court agrees with the lower court; it only means fewer than four justices thought the case warranted review. Denials are issued as bare orders without explanation.12Legal Information Institute. Certiorari Once cert is denied, the lower court’s ruling stands and the litigation is finished.
If Certiorari Is Granted
When four or more justices vote to hear the case, the Court grants certiorari and the case moves into the merits stage. The petitioner has 45 days to file a full brief on the merits, and the respondent has 30 days after receiving that brief to file their own.13Legal Information Institute. Rule 25 – Briefs on the Merits: Number of Copies and Time to File The parties also prepare a joint appendix containing the key parts of the lower-court record, which the petitioner files within 45 days of the cert grant.14Legal Information Institute. Rule 26 – Joint Appendix
Each side gets 30 minutes at oral argument unless the Court directs otherwise, with the petitioner arguing first and permitted to reserve time for rebuttal.15Legal Information Institute. Rule 28 – Oral Argument The justices control the conversation, and attorneys spend most of their time answering questions rather than delivering prepared remarks. All opinions for cases argued during a term are released before the term ends, typically by late June or early July, and the majority opinion becomes binding law throughout the United States the moment it is announced.