Can you overturn a supreme court decision

Government, represented by the Solicitor General, can file a brief on behalf of the government. With the permission of the Court, groups that do not have a direct stake in the outcome of the case, but are nevertheless interested in it, may file what is known as an amicus curiae Latin for "friend of the court" brief providing their own arguments and recommendations for how the case should be decided.

By law, the U. Supreme Court's term begins on the first Monday in October and goes through the Sunday before the first Monday in October of the following year. The Court hears oral arguments in cases from October through April. From October through December, arguments are heard during the first two weeks of each month. From January through April, arguments are heard on the last two weeks of each month.

During each two-week session, oral arguments are heard on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays only unless the Court directs otherwise. Oral arguments are open to the public. Typically, two cases are heard each day, beginning at 10 a.

Each case is allotted an hour for arguments. During this time, lawyers for each party have a half hour to make their best legal case to the Justices. Most of this time, however, is spent answering the Justices' questions. The Justices tend to view oral arguments not as a forum for the lawyers to rehash the merits of the case as found in their briefs, but for answering any questions that the Justices may have developed while reading their briefs.

The Solicitor General usually argues cases in which the U. Government is a party. If the U. Government is not a party, the Solicitor still may be allotted time to express the government's interests in the case. During oral arguments, each side has approximately 30 minutes to present its case, however, attorneys are not required to use the entire time.

The petitioner argues first, then the respondent. If the petitioner reserves time for rebuttal, the petitioner speaks last. After the Court is seated, the Chief Justice acknowledges counsel for the petitioner, who already is standing at the podium. The attorney then begins: "Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court. Only the Chief Justice is addressed as Mr. Chief Justice. Justices, typically, ask questions throughout each presentation. However, in courtroom or classroom simulations, to put student attorneys at ease, student Justices do not ask questions for the first two minutes of each side's argument.

Before leaving the podium after making the initial presentation, counsel for the petitioner may reserve some time for rebuttal after the respondent's counsel has presented.

The petitioner — not the Court — is responsible for keeping track of the time remaining for rebuttal. In typical program simulations, more than one student attorney argues each side. In that instance, they should inform the student Marshal before the court session begins how they wish to divide their time. Usually, the first student attorney to speak also handles the rebuttal. When oral arguments are concluded, the Justices have to decide the case.

They do so at what is known as the Justices' Conference. Generally, the case will not be overturned over issues of fact, but will look to see whether the law was correctly and properly applied.

Most often, the decision will only be changed if a legal or procedural error was found with the original decision. Supreme Court and the state supreme courts set precedents which they and lower courts follow and resolve conflicting interpretations of law.

Sometimes courts will choose to overturn precedent, rejecting a prior interpretation of the Constitution in favor of a new one. This rarely happens but may occur if a prior decision is deemed unworkable or if significant social changes have occurred. Ballotpedia features , encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error.

Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Share this page Follow Ballotpedia. What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. Board of Education under the Warren Court, in which it reversed Plessy v. Roe v. Wade is an important precedent. In the Supreme Court ruled that women have a right to terminate their pregnancies.

That right was reaffirmed in in Planned Parenthood v. The justices said it would be wrong to upset that expectation. Roe has also spurred opposition , with many wanting to overturn it. For years, presidents including Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump sought to appoint justices to the Supreme Court with the goal of overturning Roe and, with it, abortion rights. Now with a conservative majority , the court may be poised to do that.

Justice Clarence Thomas has taken this position on abortion. Justice Amy Coney Barrett during her Senate confirmation hearing argued that Roe is not a so-called superprecedent, a decision so important or foundational that it cannot be overturned.

Sign up for Politics Weekly. Chief Justice Roberts has been willing to overturn settled law when he thinks the original opinion was not well argued.