[Sola Veritas]

“We know. The court DID NOT grant certiorari in the Obama case.http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/orders-12-5-08.pdf";

Would you splain that in English for one of the great unwashed....me? What does not granting “certiorari” mean?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

What does not granting “certiorari” mean?

It means that they couldn't get four justices to agree to hear the case. The lower court opinion stands.

[hankbrown]

Would you splain that in English for one of the great unwashed....me? What does not granting “certiorari” mean?

The Supreme Court is not required to hear most cases that come up on appeal. A petition for a writ of certoriari is filed which is a request to the Court to take the case under consideration. There are standards for what cases the Court will take -- i.e., constitutional question, conflicting lower court decisions, etc. But in all cases, it is discretionary with the Court as to whether to grant a writ of certoriari. Had the Court granted it, the parties would proceed to the merits by filing briefs, holding an oral argument. The Supreme Court DOES NOT take evidence, it only looks at the record from the lower court.

[mnehring]

Basically that means they found there is no merit to hear it. They decided not to take the case.

[Aquinasfan]

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/orders-12-5-08.pdf";

This deserves a thread.

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

From Black's Law Dictionary certiorari - An Extraordinary writ issued by an appellate court at its discretion, directing a lower court to deliver the record in the case for review. The U.S. Supreme Court uses certiorari to review most of the cases that it decides to hear.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Would you splain that in English for one of the great unwashed....me? What does not granting “certiorari” mean?

Lower appellate courts decide all the cases filed with them-- the trial court's decision can be upheld, modified, or reversed, but the court of appeals has to do something. The Supreme Court is different-- it only decides the cases it wants to hear. Thousands of cases are filed with it every year, but it only actually hears and decides about 75-80.

What happens is that the party who loses below files a "petition for certiorari"; the other party (the one who won below) can (but doesn't have to, and often doesn't) respond; and the Court then either "grants certiorari" or "denies certiorari." If cert. is granted, that means the Court has decided that it will hear the case; the parties then get to file briefs, oral argument is scheduled, and a decision is eventually rendered. If the court "denies certiorari," that means it has decided not to hear the case. The effect is that the lower court's decision stands, and there is no furhter action in the Supreme Court.

[BP2]

“We know. The court DID NOT grant certiorari in the Obama case."

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/orders-12-5-08.pdf

NOTE: That link is to a BLOG. It is NOT the SCOTUS's website. That BLOG has had NO mention of the Donofrio case this ENTIRE time.

The orders won't be published until AFTER 4 pm EST today.