The process of decision making by justices of the U.S. Supreme Court was explained by Andy Hessick,

Andy Hessick

the College of Law’s Associate Dean of Faculty Research and Development, in a June 21 article in The Arizona Republic.

In the article, entitled, “SB 1070: High court has already decided, but process maintains suspense,” reporter Alia Beard Rau wrote that few people know when the high court’s opinion on Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law will be released. But lots of people are waiting, Rau said.

Hessick talked through the court’s usual process, from the justices’ initial discussion of a case after oral argument to the drafting of opinions for the majority and minority to the issuing of its ruling. With SB 1070, there may be multiple opinions, which may be a contributing factor in the opinion’s release at the tail end of the court’s term.

“The really big-ticket items come out because there’s more back and forth,” Hessick said.

Hessick teaches a course at the College of Law on the Supreme Court in American Politics, and during law school, he was a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General, where he worked on a number of cases before the court.

To read the article, click here.