often a mixed decision with majority, dissenting, and even concurring opinions.
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Regents of University of California v. Bakke
It means the US Supreme Court disagreed with the decision of the state supreme court on that particular case, and sent the case back to the state court with specific instructions on what action needed to be taken to correct the problem.
A majority of those voting. In the case of a tie, the lower court's ruling stands, so if the lower court said it *was* constitutional, then it still is, but if the lower court struck down the law, then a tie at the Supreme Court means the law gets struck down. Actual ties are very rare.
A Supreme Court decision is only irrelevant in two ways. The first is "de facto". This is when a decision is obviated by the fact that it no longer has any practical meaning. For instance, let's suggest that the Supreme Court once ruled on the use of debt sold by the government from 1800 to 1810. Now in 2008 that debt has either no value or no longer exists, so the law pertaining to that simply does not matter. De facto is latin for "in fact" or "in practice". The more common and controversial way is when the Court overrules a previous decision. This happened with Plessy v Ferguson and then Brown v Board of Education. In Brown v Board, the Court decided that its earlier decision of Plessy was a mistake so it was struck down and thus became irrelevant.
Supreme Court decisions can only be overturned in two ways:The US Supreme Court can overturn a decision on an earlier case by making a contradictory decision on a current case (or by reversing a current decision).Congress and the States can overturn a decision by amending the US Constitution.