Regional Court Rulings Reviewed
Appellate Courts Issue Major Rulings and Discuss Legal Traditions Across Regions
Anonymous
A Minnesota appellate court affirmed summary judgments in two cases, finding that deeds were signed while a respondent lacked capacity and that clear and convincing evidence linked a patient’s mental illness to a shooting. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares for its 2026–27 term, a look at the century-old rule of four explains how four justices can secure review of a case, despite the practice being absent from the Court’s formal rules. The Telangana High Court took up a public-interest petition concerning land allotted to BRS party offices. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments on four cases at Campbellsville University while its usual chambers undergo renovations, giving students and the public an opportunity to observe the court in session.
Key Points
1
The rule of four emerged amid changes to the Supreme Court’s caseload: Congress created federal circuit courts of appeals in 1891, then made certiorari the predominant route to the Court in 1925. During negotiations over the 1925 law, the justices described the four-vote practice, and Chief Justice William Howard Taft committed the Court to it.
2
Justice John Paul Stevens questioned the rule of four in a 1983 law review article, arguing that it led the Court to take unnecessary cases.
3
In the Minnesota deed dispute, the appellate court noted that the appellant had repeatedly represented the respondent as incompetent, and that the deeds and the appellant’s own admissions showed the respondent signed in an individual capacity—not through an attorney-in-fact.
4
In the commitment case, the court cited the patient’s longstanding hallucinations and psychiatric diagnoses, along with bizarre behavior around the shooting—including his statement that he had been possessed by demons. It also noted that psychotic symptoms continued for more than two years after stimulant medication was discontinued.
5
Campbellsville political science professor Shawn Williams described the Kentucky Supreme Court’s role as ensuring that rights, due process and the law are observed, saying the justices “referee the referees.”
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