Term (Supreme Court)

views updated

TERM (Supreme Court)

As prescribed by congressional statute, the Supreme Court holds a regular annual term of court, beginning on the first Monday in October. The term usually concludes in late June or early July of the following year. The Court is also authorized to hold special terms outside the normal October terms but does so only infrequently, in urgent circumstances (ex parte quirin, 1942, German saboteurs convicted by military commission; o ' brien v. brown, 1972, seating of delegates to Democratic National Convention).

Although Congress manipulated the Court's terms to postpone decision of marbury v. madison (1803) for nearly a year, modern times have seen no similar stratagems.

Kenneth L. Karst
(1986)

More From encyclopedia.com