How the Supreme Court decides its cases — a step‑by‑step guide

By — Paul M. Collins Jr., The Conversation Paul M. Collins Jr., The Conversation Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-supreme-court-decides-its-cases-a-step%e2%80%91by%e2%80%91step-guide Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter How the Supreme Court decides its cases — a step‑by‑step guide Politics Jun 28, 2026 1:13 PM EDT This article is republished from The Conversation . Each June, the nation turns its attention to the U.S. Supreme Court as it hands down some of its most consequential decisions . Long before a landmark Supreme Court ruling dominates the headlines, it is shaped by a highly structured legal process, much of which takes place out of public view. This procedure involves strict gatekeeping rules, a series of private conferences, written briefs, oral arguments and, finally, the announcement of an opinion. WATCH: Analyzing the Supreme Court decisions on immigration, gun control and Monsanto As a legal and Supreme Court scholar , I know that understanding how the nation's highest court actually makes policy requires stepping into this exceptionally regulated, sometimes hidden routine. It is through this process that the court evaluates, and eventually decides, increasingly high-stakes cultural and political battles. Here's how it all unfolds: The agenda-setting process The Supreme Court is a reactive institution. This means that it must wait for individuals, businesses, governments and the like to bring cases to the court before it can issue a ruling. The way this most commonly works is that the party who loses in a lower court files a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. This is a legal document that outlines why the court should review the case. The party who won in the lower court can file a brief in opposition, arguing that the lower court made the right decision and therefore the case does not warrant Supreme Court review. Sometimes, interest groups weigh in by filing amicus curiae , or "friend of the court" briefs. Amicus briefs help signal that a case has broad national importance. The court is more likely to review cases accompanied by amicus briefs. In recent years, the high court has received about 4,000 of these petitions per term, and it decides less than 80 cases . This means the odds of getting the court to hear any given case are quite small – about 2%. To handle the large volume of petitions, the justices rely heavily on their law clerks . These are young lawyers – typically only a few years out of law school – who write short memos for the justices recommending that they grant or deny each petition. READ MORE: Disagreements between Supreme Court justices bubble into public view as major rulings loom On most Fridays throughout their term, the justices meet to discuss these petitions. This is a private conference with only the nine justices in attendance. Here, the court employs a rule of four : It takes the votes of four out of t