Parties wishing to appeal such cases would file a petition for certiorari, which the Court could grant or deny without passing on the merits.
[3]Nonetheless, the number of appeals was a one-way upward ratchet, and the Justices argued that the only way to fix the problem once and for all was to have the Court conduct virtually all of its business by way of writ of certiorari.
Lastly, cases involving final decrees which brought into question the validity of a wide range of Federal or state treaties would come to the Court by certiorari.
Henceforth, pursuant to §237(b) of the act, appellants would file petitions for writs of certiorari with the Supreme Court, which would be accepted at the discretion of four of the nine Justices.
[5] Justice Brandeis said in that case: "The general purpose of the Act of 1925 was to relieve this Court by limiting further the absolute right to a review by it."