ABA Family Legal Guide

How the Legal System Works

The Civil Trial: Step by Step

Procedures After Trial

What is the effect of granting a request for review?

If a request for review is granted, the case will be set for briefing and oral argument in much the same way it was in the court whose judgment is being reviewed. If the Court makes a decision on the merits of the case (that is, the ultimate issues), its decision will be binding, final, and the law of the land. Sometimes, however, the Court will remand, or return, the case to the lower court with instructions that the court reconsider its earlier opinion in light of the Supreme Court's clarification of how the relevant constitutional or statutory provisions should be applied and interpreted.