Today, he said explicitly what his brief strongly suggested: that the court should dismiss the case as having been improvidently granted.

Certiorari dismissed as improvidently granted.

In this event the writ of certiorari is "dismissed as improvidently granted" (DIG) - saying, in effect that the Court should not have accepted the case.

After reviewing the complex record, briefs and arguments, perhaps the court will decide to duck a decision by dismissing the case as "improvidently granted," meaning it should have never picked up the case in the first place.

The marquee affirmative action case of the Supreme Court's current term evaporated today when the justices dismissed a constitutional challenge to a federal highway contracting program and conceded that the case had been "improvidently granted."

Some reviewing courts who have discretionary review may send a case back without comment other than review improvidently granted.

The result for the case of review improvidently granted is effectively the same as affirmed, but without that extra higher court stamp of approval.

Although certiorari had been granted, the Court dismissed it as improvidently granted; the minority argued that the question of statutory subject matter in patent law should be addressed.

Four were decided with unsigned opinions, two cases affirmed by an equally divided Court, and two cases were dismissed as improvidently granted.

When it was discovered that the judgment was not final, the writ of certiorari was dismissed as improvidently granted.