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As Florida justices deliberate, a civics lesson on how they do their work

Waters answers reporters' questions outside the Florida Supreme Court

By Barbara Schlichtman
CNN.com Law Center Editor

(CNN) -- The Florida Supreme Court has not set a timetable or schedule as to when its ruling on whether recount totals should be included in the final presidential election tally, according to a court spokesman.

"I can tell you that our staff has been working full-time. I left here late last night and there were many lights on in the lawyers' offices," spokesman Craig Waters told a crowd of reporters Tuesday waiting outside the Supreme Court building.

Waters explained the standard procedure used by the justices in reaching a majority opinion.

COURT DOCUMENTS Key court filings in the election cases before the Florida Supreme Court from the court's Website (These require Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™) • Response by Al Gore on election certification timeframe - November 21 (Florida Supreme Court) • Response from George W. Bush on ballot standards and certification timeframe - November 21 (Florida Supreme Court) • Petition from Palm Beach County - November 14 • Initial brief of Attorney General Robert A. Butterworth - November 18 • Brief of Al Gore and Florida Democratic Party - November 18 • Answer of George W. Bush - November 19 • All election litigation filings before the Florida Supreme Court  COURT RULES • Florida Supreme Court Clerk's Procedures for Opinion Release - November 21 (FindLaw)

INTERACTIVE Profile of the Florida Supreme Court

RELATED LAWS Florida Code Title IX - Laws concerning Florida Electors and Elections (Florida Legislature Web site)

After oral arguments the justices meet in a conference to go over their first impressions about the case, Waters said. Sometimes they will make an initial vote, and assign a justice to write the majority opinion.

The justices then go back to their offices where they research and write legal memoranda, which are often circulated to get feedback on particular issues. The justices may meet informally in offices or speak over intercoms, Waters said.

"Evenutally, there will be a majority opinion," he said.

The Florida Constitution requires that at least four justices agree before the court can take any action whatsoever. After the majority opinion is finalized and any dissenting or concurring opinions are added, the justices will authorize the release of the opinion, Waters said.

In some cases, the justices release an unsigned opinion, which can happen for various reasons. For example, if a justice writes an opinion that is so persuasive it is included in the majority opinion, then a per curiam opinion is released. By custom, the Florida court does not allow one justice to take credit for what the another justice has done, Waters said.

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