American Government / Unit 9 Gov 423 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Rule of Four
Captions available
The idea
Under the Rule of Four, the Supreme Court accepts a case when four of the nine justices vote to hear it.
In practice
A minority of the Court can put a question on the docket the majority might have skipped.
Where people slip
Four grants the hearing; five still decides the case.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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