influential when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Robert H. 
Jackson stated in Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 433, 450 (1953), “We are not final because we are infallible, but we 
are infallible only because we are final.” Although it is commonly thought that the U.S. Supreme Court has 
the final say, this is not one hundred percent accurate. After the Court has read written appellate briefs and 
listened to oral arguments, it will “decide” the case. However, it frequently refers or sends, the case back to 
the state’s supreme court for them to determine what their own state constitution holds. Similarly, as long as 
the Court has interpreted a statute and not the constitution, Congress can always enact a new statute which 
modifies or nullifies the Court’s holding. 
Writs of Certiorari and the Rule of Four 
The Court has a discretionary review over most cases brought from the state supreme courts and federal 
appeals courts in a process called a petition for the writ of certiorari. Four justices must agree to accept 
and review a case, and this only happens in roughly 10% of the cases filed. (This is known as the rule 
of four.) Once accepted, the Court schedules and hears oral arguments on the case, then delivers written 
opinions. Over the past ten years, approximately 8,000 petitions for writ of certiorari are filed annually. 
It is difficult to guess which cases the court will accept for review. However, a common reason the court 
accepts to review a case is that the federal circuits courts have reached conflicting results on important issues 
presented in the case. 
Take a virtual tour of the U.S. Supreme Court building:  https://www.oyez.org/tour 
The United States Supreme Court Building 
“The United States Supreme Court occupies a majestic building in Washington, D.C., with spacious 
office suites and impressive corridors and library facilities.  With enhancements and attributes similar 
to those of appellate courts, the elegance and dignity of the facilities comport with the significant role 
of the Court as the final arbiter in the nation’s judicial system. There is a sparse crowd at most state 
and intermediate federal appellate courts; at the Supreme Court, by contrast, parties interested in the 
decisions that will result from arguments, a coterie of media persons, and many spectators fill the courtroom 
to hear arguments in cases that often significantly affect the economic, social, and political life of the 
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