Most Supreme Court cert petitions are never examined by the justices themselves

Evidence

Justice John Paul Stevens has underscored the importance of the clerks’ work in screening petitions for review, noting, “I don’t even look at the papers in over 80 percent of the cases that are filed.” — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 907

Categorization

• XREF: Supplements the claim that law clerks sieve cert petitions well before the justices see them. — connects to: The Supreme Court accepts under 2 percent of petitions each year — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 897; Justices never explain or publish certiorari vote reasons — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 912; Nearly all prisoner habeas petitions to the Supreme Court lack merit and get dismissed — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 212