2.  It is the ultimate Court of Appeals for federal law  The Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction  The Supreme Court has 4 jobs: › To choose cases › To hear cases › To decide on cases › To implement the decision on cases

3.  Begins on the first Monday in October to decide which cases they will hear out of the 7000 or so petitions they receive annually  About 90% of cases are brought by writ of certiorari, an order to send up the case record because of a claim that the lower court mishandled the case

4.  Three distinct factors determine whether or not a case is accepted  First, has the legal question been decided differently by the two lower courts?  Second, did a lower-court decision conflict with an existing Supreme Court ruling?  Third, might the issue have significance beyond the two parties in the case?

5.  Hearings are public and on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays beginning in October  Justices listen to lawyers present each side of two or three cases a day  Before a case is heard, justices receive briefs that present legal documents, historical materials, and related previous decisions

6.  After the hearings, the justices meet again privately  The chief justice presides and usually opens the discussion by stating facts of the case and making suggestions for deciding the case  Each member is asked, in order of seniority, to present their views on the case

7.  About 33% of all decisions are unanimous, but the rest are split  The most senior justice in the majority assigns the task of majority opinion (which is the official opinion of the Court)  The most senior justice on the losing side decides who will write the dissenting opinion of those justices in disagreement with the Court's majority decision

8.  All decisions must be made by June when the Court finishes its session  Rulings are traditionally handed down on Mondays, although as June approaches, they are announced almost every day  Once again in the public main courtroom, the justice who wrote the majority opinion announces the opinion and gives the facts of the case and details of the Court's decision

9.  Some cases are implemented quickly, while others take years to implement  In the United States v. Virginia (1996), the Court ordered the all-male Virginia Military Institute to admit women  Later, the Citadel, decided to admit female students for the first time and no court order was needed for the action

10.  Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) declared "separate but equal" public facilities unconstitutional, but segregated school districts continued to exist for years thereafter  President Eisenhower refused to state clearly that Americans should comply with the decision  Southern governors blocked the decision from being implemented in their states  The Court needed cooperation of national and state executives and legislatures before the Brown decision was enforced across the country