Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/558bv.pdf
Page Number: 1016

1170 

RULES  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT 

(a)  a United States court of appeals has entered a de­
cision  in  conﬂict  with  the  decision  of  another  United 
States  court  of  appeals  on  the  same  important  matter; 
has decided an important federal question in a way that 
conﬂicts  with  a  decision  by  a  state  court  of  last  resort; 
or  has  so  far  departed  from  the  accepted  and  usual 
course  of  judicial  proceedings,  or  sanctioned  such  a  de­
parture  by  a  lower  court,  as  to  call  for  an  exercise  of 
this Court’s supervisory power; 

(b)  a  state  court  of  last  resort  has  decided  an  impor­
tant  federal  question  in  a  way  that  conﬂicts  with  the 
decision  of  another  state  court  of  last  resort  or  of  a 
United States court of appeals; 

(c)  a  state  court  or  a  United  States  court  of  appeals 
has  decided  an  important  question  of  federal  law  that 
has  not  been,  but  should  be,  settled  by  this  Court,  or 
has decided an important federal question in a way that 
conﬂicts with relevant decisions of this Court. 

A petition for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the 
asserted  error  consists  of  erroneous  factual  ﬁndings  or  the 
misapplication of a properly stated rule of law. 

Rule 11.	  Certiorari to a United States Court of Appeals 

Before Judgment 

A petition for a writ of certiorari to review a case pending 
in  a  United  States  court  of  appeals,  before  judgment  is  en­
tered in that court, will be granted only upon a showing that 
the  case  is  of  such  imperative  public  importance  as  to  jus­
tify  deviation  from  normal  appellate  practice  and  to  require 
immediate  determination  in  this  Court.  See  28  U. S. C. 
§ 2101(e). 

Rule 12.	  Review on Certiorari: How Sought; Parties 

1.  Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Rule, the peti­
tioner shall ﬁle 40 copies of a petition for a writ of certiorari, 
prepared  as  required  by  Rule  33.1,  and  shall  pay  the  Rule 
38(a) docket fee.