Shiny Happy People. An elderly patient admitted into the E.R. for a heart condition sees a familiar face, a long lost love who happens to be in the E.R. as well for a fractured arm, and the staff find ...
A writ of certiorari is a petition for appeal to a higher court as of discretion to be granted by the higher court and not an appeal by right. Writs are generally filed as extraordinary relief requesting court intervention at the higher level to settle an issue at the lower court.
The Circuit Courts of Appeals can interpret the law how they want, so long as there is no binding Supreme Court precedent. One of the common reasons the Supreme Court grants certiorari (that is, they agree to hear a case) is if there is a conflict among the circuit courts as to the meaning of a federal law.