Whitton v. Dixon · ¶40

We do not intervene based on “technicalit[ies]” that do not “really affec[t]” the outcome of a case. Kotteakos, 328 U. S., at 759, 761. Instead, on a petition for a “writ of certiorari in any case,” this Court must ignore “errors or defects which do not affect the substantial rights of the parties.” 28 U. S. C. § 2111; see United States v. Lane, 474 U. S. 438, 444 (1986). This Court therefore, in most cases, declines to exercise its certiorari authority when it is “evident that the resolution of the confict could not change the result reached below.” S. Shapiro, K. Geller, T. Bishop, E. Hartnett, & D. Himmelfarb, Supreme Court Practice, p. 4–18 (11th ed. 2019). Yet, the Court today elects to intervene in that exact posture.

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