Policymaking
There are three main steps in the Supreme Court process.
1. Accepting Cases Deciding what to decide about is the first step in all policymaking. At least once each week, the nine justices meet in conference. With them in the room sit some 25 carts, each filled with petitions, briefs, memoranda, and every item the justices are likely to need during their discussion. At the weekly meeting, the justices have two important tasks. The first is to establish an agenda. They decide which cases they want to review, or place on the docket. The cases most likely to be selected are those that involve major issues. Another important in the Court's decisions is the solicitor general. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decides very few cases. |
2. Making decisions
The second take of the justices' weekly conference is to discuss cases actually accepted and argued before the Court. Before the justices enter the courtroom to hear the lawyers for each side present their arguments, they have received elaborate prepared written briefs from each party involved. in most instances, the attorneys for each side have only a half-hour to address the Court. Once a tentative vote has been reached on a case, it is necessary to write an opinion, a statement of legal reasoning behind the decision for the case. Five votes in agreement on the reasoning underlying an opinion are necessary for the logic to serve as a precedent for judges in lower courts. The vast majority of cases that reach the courts are settled on the principle of stare decisis ("let the decision stand"). 3. Implementing Court Decisions Judicial implementation is how and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions. Judicial decision is the end of the litigation process and the beginning of the process of judicial implementation. Lawyers and judges must correctly understand and reflect the intent of the original decision in their subsequent actions. This is the interpreting population. Next, the people who the ruling actually affects must take the action the ruling requests. They are called the implementing population. Finally, the consumer population is those who benefit from the law. They must be aware of their newfound rights and stand up for them. Congress and presidents can help or hinder implementation, depending on its favorability in their eyes. |