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The judicial system is famous for its thicket of impenetrable legalese, with terms like “nolo contendere” and “writ of certiorari” befuddling laypeople trying to keep up with courtroom drama.

So sure are Texas officials that the court, with its conservative majority, won’t agree to hear the case that they waived their right to respond to Mr. Hope’s petition for a writ of certiorari.

“This Court’s review is unwarranted, and the petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied.”

When a party that has lost in a lower court wishes to obtain the Supreme Court’s review, it files a petition for a “writ of certiorari.”

Only two justices — Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — voted to take up the Grimm case, two shy of the four justices needed to grant writ of certiorari.