U.S. Supreme Court
Oct. 18, 2007
Why Has the Supreme Court's Workload Shrunk as Petitions Increase?
Forum Column - By Erwin Chemerinsky - How has the nation's highest court responded to 8,000 petitions for certiorari? By putting only 42 cases on the docket for 2007.





Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
By Erwin Chemerinsky
One of the most important changes in American law over the last quarter century is one of the least recognized: the dramatic decrease in the number of cases decided by the Supreme Court each year. Last year, the Supreme Court decided only 68 cases after briefing and oral argument. The court had to cancel a scheduled argument day in December and had days in March where it heard only one case, rath...
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$795 for an entire year!
Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)
Already a subscriber?
Sign In