Rule 10. Considerations
Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari
Review on a writ of certiorari
is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. A petition for
a writ of certiorari will be granted only for compelling reasons. The
following, although neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's
discretion, indicate the character of the reasons the Court considers:
(a)
a United States court of appeals has entered a decision in conflict
with the decision of another United States court of appeals on the
same important matter; has decided an important federal question
in a way that conflicts with a decision by a state court of last
resort; or has so far departed from the accepted and usual course
of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a departure by a lower
court, as to call for an exercise of this Court's supervisory power;
(b)
a state court of last resort has decided an important federal question
in a way that conflicts with the decision of another state court
of last resort or of a United States court of appeals;
(c)
a state court or a United States court of appeals has decided an
important question of federal law that has not been, but should
be, settled by this Court, or has decided an important federal question
in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court.
A petition
for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the asserted error consists
of erroneous factual findings or the misapplication of a properly stated
rule of law.
[Supreme
Court Rule 10: Considerations Governing Review on Write of Certiorari]