SCCOTUS Act

Key Points

• This bill creates a new 13-judge panel called the Supreme Court Certification Panel that would take over the power to decide which cases the Supreme Court hears. Right now, the Justices themselves choose their own cases through a process called certiorari. This panel would strip that gatekeeping role from the Court.
• The panel would include one randomly selected circuit judge from each of the 13 federal appeals courts. Judges must have at least 5 years of experience, and no judge can serve on the panel for more than one term in a row. This rotation is meant to prevent any single judge from having outsized influence over the Court's docket.
• At least 4 of the 13 panel members must agree before a case can be sent to the Supreme Court. When they do accept a case, they must publish a written explanation of why, which is a major change from the current system where the Supreme Court routinely rejects cases without any public explanation.
• The panel can only accept cases that meet specific criteria, like when two appeals courts disagree on the same legal question or when an important federal issue hasn't been settled yet. The panel cannot re-examine the facts of a case or weigh evidence.
• Panel judges must follow the Code of Conduct for United States Judges and recusal standards. Any judge who worked on a case in a lower court is automatically barred from deciding whether that case goes to the Supreme Court. The panel must also publish a public report each term summarizing its work.

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