While this question relates indirectly to an existing thread, it is specific in scope and not limited to that topic. Thus the new thread.

Please answer only if you know the answer for certain. Thanks in advance!

In filing a case before SCOTUS, does the Court assigning it a docket number mean the Court has agreed to hear the case? Conversely: If the Court declines to hear a case, does that mean no docket number? Or are all cases properly filed with SCOTUS automatically assigned a docket number?

I've tried to find this out with a bit of research on my own, but what I've found has been vague and/or contradictory.

To my knowledge, there is no online resource explaining the Court’s use of docket numbers.

The Court has two main categories of dockets that most cases fall into. The first is the paid docket. This docket contains all the cases where the party has paid the filing fee and printed the petition in booklet format. It includes all paid petitions for certiorari, habeas corpus, and mandamus, as well as jurisdictional statements in cases coming directly from federal district courts. The first petition of the summer recess is numbered 01-1 and everything behind it is numbered sequentially (although a new term begins on the first Monday of October, the Court starts the new numbering at beginning of the summer recess).

The second is the in forma pauperis docket, which is full of petitions from federal and state public defenders and prisoners. The “IFP” or “indigent” docket is numbered starting at 01-5001.

The “A” docket is comprised of applications and motions, such as those for stays, bail, and extensions of time. It also includes the Court’s favorite motion: one for enlargement of word-count limitations (because the Court doesn’t have enought to read!). Those are numbered starting with 1A1. So if you have a pending motion for extension of time, you can search the Court’s docket page by name and find the status of your motion without calling the Clerk’s Office.

For original actions, such as those between two states, the Court retains the “O” docket. Unlike the regular docket, which sees the numbering system change each year, the O docket is carried over from term to term.

The two other dockets are the “M” docket for motions to file certiorari under seal or out of time, and the “D” docket for attorney disbarments. The numbering systems for those dockets are the same as the others.

As far as I have ever seen, it’s just a sequential number when a petition is filed and processed. The first two numbers being the year. As an example, docket # 20-500 is a case where a petition was filed and denied. 20-750 is one where nothing more than the petition has been filed.

Ok. Thanks for the answers.