Petitioning for Review in the Supreme Court

Q: What happens if the petition for review is granted?

A: If the court grants review, the parties will be permitted to file briefs on the merits. The court may specify which issues should be briefed and argued, and may even direct the parties to address additional issues not raised by the petition to review (see Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.516).

Alternatively, the court may issue a “grant and hold” order which grants review but defers all further briefing in the case pending disposition of another case already being considered by the court (called the “lead” case). Upon filing its opinion in the lead case, the Supreme Court will subsequently either order briefing in the "held" case and retain it for issuance of an opinion, transfer the "held" case back to the Court of Appeal for further consideration in light of the opinion in the lead case, or dismiss the matter. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.528.) If review is dismissed, the prior Court of Appeal decision governs the case.

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