The Supreme Court accepts under 2 percent of petitions each year

Evidence

Agenda Setting The Cases Each year the Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 petitions for review, the vast majority of them appealing rulings of federal courts of appeals or state supreme courts. Litigants who cannot afford the costs of an appeal (like Clarence Gideon, whose case is discussed in Chapter 2) can file their petitions in forma pauperis, “in the manner of a pauper,” and the Court will waive fees and other costs. In recent years, the Court has accepted fewer than 100 cases annually—less than 2 percent of the cases it receives on appeal—for oral argument and decision. Over the course of the twentieth century, Congress gradually expanded the justices’ control over court agendas. Today, the justices exercise virtually total discretion in deciding which appeals to hear and which to reject. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 897

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘in forma pauperis,’ a required legal term for this course.
• XREF: connects to: The Supreme Court’s docket is dominated by thousands of annual petitions from lower courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1469; Supreme Court case review begins with a certiorari petition — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 904; Most Supreme Court cert petitions are never examined by the justices themselves — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 907

Broader Connections

• The Supreme Court’s docket is dominated by thousands of annual petitions from lower courts. #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1469
• Most Supreme Court cert petitions are never examined by the justices themselves #expands (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 907
• Supreme Court case review begins with a certiorari petition #expands (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 904