Petitions for rehearing; basic reasons for denial.

• Jurisdiction: United States

Section 143. Petitions for rehearing; basic reasons for denial. —Charles Evans Hughes, in the interval between his two terms of service on the Supreme Court, wrote that "Petitions for rehearing are an improvement on the tavern¹ as counsel may enjoy the luxury of telling the Court to its face what is thought of its opinion * * *."² Later on in the same passage, he quoted Mr. Justice Bradley on the subject, a quotation which goes to the heart of the matter:

It ought to be understood, or at least believed, whether it is true or not, that this Court, being a Court of last resort, gives great consideration to cases of importance and involving consequences like this, and there should be a finality somewhere. This custom of making motions for a rehearing is not a custom to be encouraged. It prevails in some States as a matter of ordinary practice to grant a rehearing on a mere application for it, but that practice we do not consider a legitimate one in this Court. It is possible that in the haste of examining cases before us, we sometimes overlook something, and then we are willing to have that pointed out, but to consider that this Court will reexamine the matter and change its...