what is the term for when the supreme court requests a case?

Answer 1

Chris is wrong. Coragryph is actually correct.

A petition for writ of certiorari is what the parties use to request the Supreme Court to review the case.

I think the person who asked the question didn't phrase the question properly. I think what the person was asking is how the Supreme Court gets to hear the case...which is typically by a writ of certiorari. But going by the question as phrased.... writ of certiorari would be incorrect.

Answer 2

It's not a Writ of Certiorari -- that's when they are asked to take a case.

I know that the Supreme Court can order a case pending before a lower federal court to be transfered to them. I can't find the term in my casuals research.

Full rules of the Supreme Court linked below.

Answer 3

Normally the "writ of cert" says in effect to an appellate court, "Send us the record in this case you decided recently." In very rare instances a writ of certiorari before appellate judgment says, " Send us the record in this case you haven’t reviewed yet." It enables the Court to act with maximum speed in unusual cases of great public importance.

ANYONE can write and submit the writ, even the clerks of the Supreme Court. And although rare, it has been done in the past with issues of 'Original Jurisdiction' such as when Arizona sued California over water rights from water flowing through the Colorado.

Answer 4

Actually, a writ of certiorari is a proper answer to the question. The procedure to request review is called a "petition for writ of certiorari", and if the Supreme Court issues the writ of certiorari, that writ requests the lower court to send the file up for review.