May an accused whose motion for reconsideration is denied file a petition for certiorari with the supreme court?

Answer

I believe so. An accused has the right to file for a petition for certiorari having been aggrieved by the order of the regional trial court.

For example, the accused has been detained for more than 4 years and was released after the court granted a provisional dismissal of the case on the ground of failure to prosecute. After some time, the complainants moved for the revival of the case. Unbeknownst to the accused, the case was revived. A motion for reconsideration was then filed, but the same was denied by the trial court on the ground that the revival was within the two year grace period for provisional dismissals. The accused plans to go to the US Supreme Court by way of a motion for certiorari.

Answer

If the person is only looking for another opportunity to prove him- or herself innocent, then the answer is no.

Answer

Yes and no. First, the person must be convicted of a crime in order to exercise the appellate process.

A convicted person who exhausts all lower court appeals has the right to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court; however, if the person hasn't preserved(raised at the trial and on appeal) one or more significant federal questions (constitutional issues) directly related to his or her case, the petition will be summarily rejected. Approximately 70% of all petitions for writ of certiorari are filed in error, and lack proper grounds for appeal.

The petitioner needs to be aware that the Supreme Court will not review the case on merit, and will generally not take cases that simply allege errors or misapplied laws, unfair as that may seem. The Court's primary mission is to ensure the Constitution is being interpreted and applied correctly (in their opinion) and consistently via statutes and lower court decisions.