What happens if the Supreme Court ties?

With nine justices, ties are impossible unless a seat is vacant or a justice recuses from a particular case. When the Court divides four to four, the judgment of the lower court is affirmed by an equally divided Court. That outcome resolves the specific case for the parties involved but sets no precedent and establishes no national rule, which means the underlying legal question remains open and can differ between circuits until the Court takes another case on the same issue. The order is usually a single sentence with no opinion and no disclosure of how individual justices voted.

Recusal is the more common cause. Justices step aside for financial interests, prior involvement in the case, or family relationships, and the decision to recuse is made by each justice individually with no review, which has been a subject of sustained criticism. The Court adopted its first formal code of conduct in November 2023 in response to that criticism, though it lacks an enforcement mechanism, which critics have noted.

The most consequential recent stretch of ties followed the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016, which left the Court with eight members for over a year while the Senate declined to consider a nomination. Several significant cases during that period ended in four-four affirmances, including a challenge to expanded immigration deferred action programs, leaving lower court rulings in place without national resolution. The Court can also order a case reargued once a full bench is restored, which it has done historically when a tie would otherwise leave an important question unanswered.