A grant of appellate review is dismissed as improvidently granted (DIG) when a court with discretionary appellate jurisdiction later decides that it should not review the case. The Supreme Court of the United States has occasionally granted a petition for a writ of certiorari, and later dismissed the case as improvidently granted.

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court normally DIGs a case through a per curiam decision, usually without giving reasons, but rather issuing a one-line decision: "The writ of certiorari is dismissed as improvidently granted." However, justices sometimes file separate opinions, and the opinion of the court may instead give reasons for the DIG.

A DIG can come as a surprise or disappointment to parties who have put significant effort into getting a case to the court, to third parties who have filed amicus briefs to express their views to the court, or to members of the public expecting resolution of a high-profile dispute. However, respondents who had urged the court not to take a case in the first place may seek to convince the court to DIG the case, leaving their lower-court victory intact and avoiding a potentially unfavorable precedent.

In most cases, the reasons for a DIG fall into three main categories: The most common reason for a DIG is that the court discovers that the case is a "poor vehicle" for resolving the question presented. That is, there may be difficult threshold issues that the court would have to decide before getting to the issue that the court agreed to review. The court also may DIG a case when it believes the petitioner has engaged in a "bait-and-switch", pressing new arguments or issues that were not the focus of the cert petition or the question upon which the court granted review. The court sometimes DIGs cases where it is unable to agree on a clear resolution for the case, deciding to issue no decision rather than a fractured or muddled decision.

It has not always been clear how many votes are needed to DIG a case. By custom, it takes only four votes to grant certiorari, not a majority of five, so it has been suggested that six votes should be required to DIG a case (i.e., four justices could insist on keeping the case). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has DIGged some cases over four justices' dissent, such as Medellin v. Dretke (2005), Robertson v. United States ex rel. Watson (2010), and Boyer v. Louisiana (2012).

Because per curiam opinions are issued from the court as an institution, these opinions lack the attribution of who authored or joined the decision. Sometimes, the Supreme Court DIGs a case through a simple docket order, rather than issuing even a per curiam opinion. (See Other cases below.) Accordingly, the lists below may not include every case with a DIG.

DIGs after oral argument since the 1989 term

Case nameOpinionGrantedArguedDecidedNotes Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Davis 24 Jan 2025 29 Apr 2025 5 Jun 2025 One line. Kavanaugh dissented. NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB 17 Jun 2024 13 Nov 2024 11 Dec 2024 One line. Facebook, Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank 10 Jun 2024 6 Nov 2024 22 Nov 2024 One line. Moyle v. United States Idaho v. United States 5 Jan 2024 24 Apr 2024 27 Jun 2024 One line (which also included vacating the stays that the Supreme Court had previously granted). Kagan concurred, joined by Sotomayor and in part by Jackson. Barrett concurred, joined by Roberts and Kavanaugh. Jackson concurred in part and dissented in part. Alito dissented, joined by Thomas and in part by Gorsuch. Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski 8 Dec 2022 21 Mar 2023 23 Jun 2023 Footnote 7 in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski. In re Grand Jury 3 Oct 2022 9 Jan 2023 23 Jan 2023 One line. Arizona v. City and County of San Francisco 29 Oct 2021 23 Feb 2022 15 Jun 2022 One line. Roberts concurred, joined by Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. United States v. Texas 22 Oct 2021 1 Nov 2021 10 Dec 2021 One line. Sotomayor dissented without an opinion. Argued and announced with Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson. Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc. (2021) 15 Jun 2020 8 Dec 2020 25 Jan 2021 One line. This was the Supreme Court's second time hearing the case, following Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc. (2019). Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian 4 Jan 2019 15 Apr 2019 23 Apr 2019 One line. City of Hays v. Vogt 28 Sep 2017 20 Feb 2018 29 May 2018 One line. Gorsuch was recused. 28 Sep 2017 16 Jan 2018 22 Jun 2018 One line. Argued and announced with Ortiz v. United States. Duncan v. Owens 1 Oct 2015 12 Jan 2016 20 Jan 2016 One line. City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan 25 November 2014 23 March 2015 18 May 2015 Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall 24 Jun 2013 13 Nov 2013 10 Dec 2013 One line. Breyer dissented, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan. Madigan v. Levin 18 Mar 2013 7 Oct 2013 15 Oct 2013 One line. Boyer v. Louisiana 5 Oct 2012 14 Jan 2013 29 Apr 2013 One line. Alito concurred, joined by Scalia and Thomas. Sotomayor dissented, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan. First American Financial Corp. v. Edwards 20 Jun 2011 28 Nov 2011 28 Jun 2012 One line. Vasquez v. United States 28 Nov 2011 21 Mar 2012 2 Apr 2012 One line. Tolentino v. New York 15 Nov 2010 21 Mar 2011 29 Mar 2011 One line. Robertson v. United States ex rel. Watson 14 Dec 2009 31 Mar 2010 24 May 2010 One line. Roberts dissented, joined by Scalia, Kennedy, and Sotomayor. Sotomayor dissented, joined by Kennedy. Sullivan v. Florida 4 May 2009 9 Nov 2009 17 May 2010 One line. Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams (2009) 9 Jun 2008 3 Dec 2008 31 Mar 2009 One line. This was the Supreme Court's second time hearing the case, following Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams (2007). Bell v. Kelly 12 May 2008 12 Nov 2008 17 Nov 2008 One line. Roper v. Weaver 7 Dec 2006 21 Mar 2007 21 May 2007 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. Roberts concurred in the result. Scalia dissented, joined by Thomas and Alito. Toledo-Flores v. United States 3 Apr 2006 3 Oct 2006 5 Dec 2006 One line. Argued and announced with Lopez v. Gonzales. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Metabolite Laboratories, Inc. 31 Oct 2005 21 Mar 2006 22 Jun 2006 One line. Roberts was recused. Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Williams 12 Dec 2005 26 Apr 2006 5 Jun 2006 One paragraph. The Court initially granted review of only Question 1 of the cert petition. After hearing arguments, the Court dismissed as improvidently granted, but simultaneously issued a grant, vacate, remand of the entire cert petition in light of Anza v. Ideal Steel Supply Corp., which had been decided the same day. Maryland v. Blake 18 Apr 2005 1 Nov 2005 14 Nov 2005 One line. Medellín v. Dretke 10 Dec 2004 28 Mar 2005 23 May 2005 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. Ginsburg concurred, join by Scalia as to Part II. O'Connor dissented, joined by Stevens, Souter, and Breyer. Breyer dissented, joined by Stevens. Souter dissented. The Court later decided a related case, Medellín v. Texas (2008). Howell v. Mississippi 28 Jun 2004 29 Nov 2004 24 Jan 2005 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. Nike, Inc. v. Kasky 10 Jan 2003 23 Apr 2003 26 Jun 2003 One line. Stevens concurred, joined by Ginsburg, and joined by Souter as to Part III. Kennedy dissented without an opinion. Breyer dissented, joined by O'Connor. Abdur'Rahman v. Bell 22 Apr 2002 6 Nov 2002 10 Dec 2002 One line. Stevens dissented. Ford Motor Co. v. McCauley 537 U.S. 1 19 Feb 2002 7 Oct 2002 15 Oct 2002 One line. Mathias v. WorldCom Technologies, Inc. 5 Mar 2001 5 Dec 2001 20 May 2002 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. O'Connor was recused. Adams v. Florida Power Corp. 535 U.S. 1 3 Dec 2001 20 Mar 2002 1 Apr 2002 One line. Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Mineta 26 Mar 2001 31 Oct 2001 27 Nov 2001 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. This was the Supreme Court's third time hearing the case, following Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña (1995) and Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Slater (2000). Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett 11 Oct 2000 21 Feb 2001 District of Columbia v. Tri County Industries, Inc. 531 U.S. 287 10 Jan 2001 17 Jan 2001 One line. Ricci v. Arlington Heights 523 U.S. 613 21 Apr 1998 4 May 1998 One line. Rogers v. United States 5 Nov 1997 14 Jan 1998 Stevens wrote the plurality opinion, joined by Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer. O'Connor concurred in the result, joined by Scalia. Kennedy dissented, joined by Rehnquist and Souter. Adams v. Robertson 14 Jan 1997 3 Mar 1997 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. Grimmett v. Brown 519 U.S. 233 6 Jan 1997 14 Jan 1997 One line. Ticor Title Insurance Company v. Brown 1 Mar 1994 4 Apr 1994 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. O'Connor dissented, joined by Rehnquist and Kennedy. Tennessee v. Middlebrooks 1 Nov 1993 13 Dec 1993 One line. Blackmun dissented without an opinion. Cavanaugh v. Roller 510 U.S. 42 8 Nov 1993 30 Nov 1993 One line. Izumi Seimitsu Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha v. U. S. Philips Corp. 12 Oct 1993 30 Nov 1993 The per curiam includes an explanation of its reasons. Stevens dissented, joined by Blackmun. Hadley v. United States 506 U.S. 19 4 Nov 1992 16 Nov 1992 One line. Montana v. Imlay 506 U.S. 5 7 Oct 1992 3 Nov 1992 One line. Stevens concurred. White dissented. PFZ Properties, Inc. v. Rodriguez 503 U.S. 257 26 Feb 1992 9 Mar 1992 One line. Gibson v. Florida Bar 6 Nov 1991 4 Dec 1991 One line. Ohio v. Huertas 16 Jan 1991 22 Jan 1991 One line. Parker v. Duggar 7 Nov 1990 22 Jan 1991 White v. United States 493 U.S. 5 3 Oct 1989 16 Oct 1989 One line. White dissented without an opinion.

Other cases dismissed as improvidently granted since 2001

The following cases were dismissed as improvidently granted by the court through a docket order rather than a published opinion. The Supreme Court's online docket search system "contains complete information regarding the status of cases filed since the beginning of the 2001 Term". Orders from before 2001 may appear instead in the United States Reports.

Case nameOrderGrantedArguedDecidedNotes Ardoin v. Robinson 21-1596 28 Jun 2022 N/A 26 Jun 2023 One paragraph/docket order PEM Entities LLC v. Levin 16-492 27 Jun 2017 N/A 10 Aug 2017 One line/docket order. 580 U.S. 993 28 Jun 2016 N/A 17 Nov 2016 Docket order with explanation. Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi v. IndyMac MBS, Inc. 573 U.S. 988 10 Mar 2014 N/A 29 Sep 2014 One line/docket order. Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice 571 U.S. 985 27 Jun 2013 N/A 4 Nov 2013 One line/docket order. Before the DIG, the Court certified a question of Oklahoma law to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, and received its response. McCarver v. North Carolina 533 U.S. 975 26 Mar 2001 N/A 25 Sep 2001 One line/docket order.

See also Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States

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References

Further reading