8 ms·
Why? Justices recuse themselves in some cases, so ties are already possible. I believe the lower court ruling is upheld in those cases.
by minikites 6y ago
Why? Justices recuse themselves in some cases, so ties are already possible. I believe the lower court ruling is upheld in those cases.
- waterheater 6y agoThey recuse in some cases but not most. Given that all Justices are expected but not guaranteed to vote in cases, it makes the most sense to have an odd number to minimize the cases of ties.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- minikites 6y agoAssuming the case is close enough that a tie is plausible. There are plenty of 9-0 and 7-2 decisions: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/06/28/those-5-4-decisions-on-the-supreme-court-9-0-is-far-more-common/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/0... >The 5-to-4 decisions, by comparison, occurred in 19 percent of cases.