Can the US Supreme Court reverse its own decisions?

Answer 1

Yes, they can.

However, if the decision involves a question of federal or constitutional law and the case is petitioned to the US Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, and if the U.S. Supreme Court grants certiorari, and if the U.S. Supreme Court rules differently from the state supreme court, the state is bound by the U.S. Supreme Court decision under the doctrine of Stare decisis, which is abbreviated from a Latin phrase that means "let the decision stand."

Answer 2

Yes, but only if the case has been appealed to the US Supreme Court and falls under the Court's appellate jurisdiction and includes one or more preserved federal questions. "Preserved" means the question before the court has been raised at trial and at each subsequent appeal; federal questions are those that involve matters of federal law, US treaties, and the US Constitution.

Answer 3

Yes, but...

• If you're asking whether the US Supreme Court can reverse a decision made by an earlier Court, the answer is yes, butthe earlier decision isn't really changed. Instead, the Court makes a contradictory decision on a new case that results in overturning the old precedent. One well-known example is when the justices determined segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional in their decision for Brown v. Board of Education, (1954). This reversed the "separate but equal" doctrine permitting legal segregation, established in Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896).

• If your question is whether the US Supreme Court can reverse a decision in a particular case the Court has already heard, the answer is yes, but they rarely do so.

In all cases, the losing party has 25 days to file a petition to the US Supreme Court for a rehearing of the case. Most petitions for rehearing are denied, but if the Court grants the petition, the case will be docketed for reargument.

The most common reason for granting a rehearing appears to be instances where the lower court decision was affirmed by an equally divided court (tie vote) due to the absence of one of the nine Supreme Court justices. If the Court believes the issue raised is of sufficient importance, they may grant a rehearing, vacate their first default decision, and reconsider the case with all justices present. Under most circumstances, the Court has reaffirmed the decision, allowing the case to set precedent.

Different Types of Examples

On a few occasions, the Court resolved a previous tie vote by reversing the lower court.

• Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. US, 350 US 61 (1955) Originally affirmed by an equally divided court, vacated, lower court decision reversed, case remanded on rehearing.
• Haliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Walker, 329 US 1 (1946) Originally affirmed by an equally divided court, vacated, lower court decision reversed on rehearing.
• Toucey v. New York Life Insurance Co., 314 US 118 (1941) Originally affirmed by an equally divided court, vacated, lower court decision reversed on rehearing.

Cases have occasionally been reheard and their original decision reversed due to the Court's error.

• City of New York, 147 US 72 (1893) Decision reversed because the wrong rules for supervision of city inspectors had been applied.
• City of New Orleans v. Warner, 176 US 385 (1899) Decision reversed because the Court overlooked the fact that a bill for services had been presented to the Respondent.
• Whitney v. California, 274 US 357 (1927) Originally dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because the Court had been unable to find records documenting the case contained a preserved federal question.

A few cases have been reversed due to new evidence being presented, changes to Federal Laws, or a convincing argument made against the first decision.

• Alderman v. US, 394 US 165 (1969) Previous decision vacated and case remanded to the US District Court for the District of Colorado for disposition.
• Bakery Drivers Local v. Wohl, 315 US 769 (1942) Originally affirmed a judgment sustaining an injunction, reversed on reconsideration.
• Brenham v. German American Bank, 144 US 549 (1892) Previous decision vacated and case remanded to lower court.

The Court has also reversed its decision to deny certiorari for various reasons, although these cases would be categorized differently because there was only one set of arguments.

• Forgett v. US, 390 US 203 (1968) Certiorari initially denied, then granted on rehearing.
• Black v. US, 385 US 26 (1966) Certiorari initially denied, then granted on rehearing.
• US v. Ohio Power Co., 353 US 98 (1957) Certiorari initially denied, then granted on rehearing.

The Court also agreed to rehear two cases under original jurisdiction (disputes between the states) and modified (but did not reverse) their original judgment.

• Wyoming v. Colorado, 259 US 419 (1922) Revised determination about how much water Colorado could divert from the Colorado River.
• Arizona v. California, 530 US 392 (2000) Revised water apportionment from the Colorado River, case initiated in 1952 and thereafter modified in 1955, 1964, 1979, 1984 and 2000.

A search of the Justia Supreme Court database indicates the last time the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider a case under its appellate jurisdiction was 1969; the most recent case reconsidered under original jurisdiction was in 2000.

Addendum: The Supreme Court is more likely to revise the decision in a future case or overturn decisions made by an earlier Court, as it did in Brown v. Board of Education, (1954). In Brown, the Warren Court ruled segregation in public schools is unconstitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. This overturned the longstanding precedent of "separate but equal" established in Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896). This is just one of many examples in the history of the US Supreme Court.

Answer 4

Supreme Court decisions can only be overridden in two ways:

1. The US Supreme Court reverses a decision on an earlier case by making a contradictory decision on a current case.
2. Congress and the States override a decision by amending the Constitution.

There are several legitimate and illegitimate methods Congress and the President use to resist Supreme Court decisions that may have the practical effect of overriding a decision, however.

1. Sometimes the Executive Branch obstructs or fails to enforce a decision.
2. Sometimes Congress rewrites legislation to bring it into compliance with constitutional guidelines.
3. Sometimes Congress strips the Supreme Court of its appellate jurisdiction over certain types of cases to deprive them of the ability to overturn a law or policy.

Answer 5

No. The Senate does not have the authority to overturn a Supreme Court decision because of constitutional separation of powers.

No single entity - not the President, Senate, House of Representatives, state Governors, nor anyone else - has the power to overturn a US Supreme Court ruling. Supreme Court decisions cannot be nullified by other parts of government.

1. The Supreme court can overrule it's own rulings.
2. The Constitution can be amended. This would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, and ratification by three-quarters of the states (actually, at least 39).

Optionally, Congress can rewrite a law to conform with Constitutional standards, which is the most frequent response to the Supreme Court overturning a law.

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 6

Yes, the Supreme Court can overturn their own previous decisions.

Answer 7

can another court change the decision of a Supreme Court case

Answer 8

yes