Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: Supreme Courts Question

I don't know of any. But the only possible chance would be at the state level, with some name organization picking up the fight and a petition for rehearing of the denial based on some previously overlooked grounds. Other than time and money there is nothing to lose.

Re: Supreme Courts Question

I have never heard of such a protest at all, let alone one that succeeded.

In both the state and federal systems, the role of a supreme court is not to correct errors but rather to authoritatively answer important legal questions. The supreme courts can hear only a small fraction of the cases they are asked to decide, and they select that fraction based primarily upon how important the cases are to the law, not to the parties. How strongly the public feels about a case has nothing to do with this analysis.

Also, in the federal system and in most states, supreme court justices have life tenure and thus have little reason to care about negative public opinion. Even where justices have to stand for re-election, it is hard to imagine any being voted out of office for declining a case.

The U.S. Supreme Court routinely declines to hear highly visible, politically sensitive cases. The Terry Schiavo case leaps to mind as one example. It has also rejected many high-profile death penalty cases.

Re: Supreme Courts Question

Part of my prior answer said "The U.S. Supreme Court routinely declines to hear highly visible, politically sensitive cases." After I submitted the answer I realized this passage is amgiguous, so I want to clarify.

I did not mean to suggest that the High Court shies away from cases that are politically sensitive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bush v. Gore was the most politically sensitive case in decades (maybe even in all of American history), but the Court unanimously agreed to hear it.

My point was that the large majority of politicaly sensitive cases are denied, which makes such denials routine. These cases aren't denied *because* they are politically sensitive, but rather because they don't satisfy the Court's criteria -- just like the large majority of non-sensitive cases, which are also usually denied.