A defendant has been convicted in a state trial court of first degree murder for the premeditated killing of two people in a drive-by shooting. The sentencing judge ordered that the defendant be executed for his crime. With his attorney, he begins working on his appeal. What state court will make the final decision on his appeal? If the state court upholds his conviction, what process must he follow to request the U. S. Supreme Court to hear his case? How many U. S. Supreme Court justices must agree to hear his case? Why do you think this number of justices is used? If all of the U. S. Supreme Court justices vote, how many justices does the defendant need to vote to overturn his state conviction?

Question 1

The State Court to make the final decision on his appeal is the Supreme Court of the State.

Question 2

If the State Court upholds his conviction, the process he is expected to follow is to request the United States Supreme Court by way of Certiorari Under the law.

Question 3

At least 4 Justices must accept the Certiorari request.

Question 4

The reason for the number was developed in the 19th century as a threshold for deciding on Certiorari request. This is to give a fair chance to the applicant and to ensure that the application has merit before it can be heard. Therefore, the quorum is used on the ground of equity.

Question 5

It would appear that the majority votes needed to overturn the state conviction will be 5 votes out of the 9 Justices which is the total number of the Supreme Court Justices.

Explanation:

Certiorari is a request formally made by one or more parties to a case to a Supreme Court to agree to hear the appeal.