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To: Sacajaweau

Not familiar with the inner-workings of the SC.... so can someone shed some light?

What takes place after the case is heard? Do the justices, alone or with aides, deliberate? If so , how long? Do they take an initial vote prior to deliberations? Is the procedure like a jury would follow? How do they determine who writes majority/minority opinion?

Thanks.


10 posted on 03/29/2012 8:42:09 AM PDT by dmzTahoe
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To: dmzTahoe

Oral arguments are a formality for show. They may or may not have any bearing on deliberations.
Judges now convene to discuss, vote, form alliances, vote again, lather, rinse, repeat, and then write their various opinions. They take as long as they like.


13 posted on 03/29/2012 8:46:03 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ($1 meals: http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com/)
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To: dmzTahoe
The usual procedure, as I understand it (but I only know what I read, so take with a grain of salt, although I believe it is correct), is that the Justices will meet in private, probably today, to discuss the cases (with each Justice beginning by speaking in turn) and then take an initial vote on the issues. Then the chief justice will make assignments for a justice (generally one who is in the majority) to prepare an opinion. There is nothing to prevent a justice from writing their own opinion, but it is not generally done at this stage,

As they are being drafted, opinions may be circulated among the justices, or informal meetings may take place among the justices or in any conbination.

As the opinions firm up, justices will indicate with which opinions they concur and from which they dissent. The majority opinion is the opinion on each issue on which the majority of justices concur. Those who do not concur will prepare a dissenting opinion (since the dissenting opinions I have read almost always reference and criticize the majority opinion, they are presumably prepared after the majority opinion has been approved.) Justices may preapre opinions that dissent, or concur in part and dissent in part, from the majority decision.

Court tradition is that these deliberations occur in strict privacy (although law clerks may be involved). However, given their personalities and political leanings, it would not surprise me to hear a leak coming from either Kagan or Sotomayer.

I think it is important to note that the justices are not in any way limited by the oral presentations - there are numerous briefs that have been filed and were not alluded to in the oral arguments. That the justices didn't ask questions on them generally means they feel sure, for better or worse, of the legal argument being made. The questions during the oral arguments may be grandstanding - a way of presenting their opinion directly to the public, or questions where an argument is not perfectly clear. A argument they need clarified won't automatically be rejected and an argument they seek no clarification on may not be accepted. So the questioning sometimes doesn't give any more than a peak as to what a Justice is thinking - though I'm prepared to make my famous Pasta e fagioli soup for the entire court if Scalia doesn't issue a scathing opinion on this whole mess. (If Justice Scalia happens to be reading, you can have soup either way, so don't let it prevent you from letting this legislation "have it" with both barrells.) An enterprising grad student might examine Scalia's opinion and find there are coded italian curses throughout! (Though I've seen Ginsberg at the opera, so she might have an understanding of Italian on, at least, an elementary level.) LOL

28 posted on 03/29/2012 9:22:08 AM PDT by In Maryland (Liberal logic - the ultimate oxymoron!)
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