Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

A December deadline to finalize vote totals for the Electoral College played a partial role in 2000 when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped a Florida recount in the presidential election, allowing George W. Bush to defeat then-Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes. (Detroit News)

When one or more judges on a panel disagree with a decision made by the majority in a court ruling, they can file an official disagreement known as a dissenting opinion. [...] In a general sense, a dissenting opinion is simply an opinion that does not agree with others—especially one that goes against a mainstream opinion. But the term is most often used in its specific legal sense. Dissenting opinions are part of the legal tradition in many countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Ireland. Dissenting opinions are very often discussed in relation to the U.S. Supreme Court, since such opinions can have a significant impact on future court rulings. (Dictionary.com)

A writ of certiorari orders a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it. The U.S. Supreme Court uses certiorari to select most of the cases it hears. The word certiorari comes from Law Latin and means "to be more fully informed." (Legal Information Institute)