Ladies and gentlemen, the 2024 term of the Supreme Court has officially begun! As I have done in the past, I encourage those of you with an interest in our highest court to avoid the headlines, seek out primary sources, and form your own opinion. With that in mind, I have created this short primer to aid those of you looking to begin your SCOTUS journey.

The Journey Through the Supreme Court

If you're truly new to the Supreme Court, we should first review the process that a Supreme Court case will follow:

1. Petition for Certiorari - Our journey starts with a petition for cert, where the Supreme Court is formally asked to review a case. A petition for cert will present (among other things) one or more legal questions that highlight the issues the petitioner wants the Court to address.
2. Petition Granted - The Supreme Court, after deliberation, may choose to officially grant cert to a petition. The votes of at least 4 Justices are needed to grant cert. In any given year, less than 3% of all Petitions for Cert are granted, so if you have heard of a case, odds are it's been granted cert.
3. Briefs - Both the Petitioners and the Respondents will submit detailed briefs of their arguments for a particular case. There may also be one or more "amicus" briefs from persons or institutions who are not directly involved in the case but wish to provide their input.
4. Oral Arguments - Both Petitioners and Respondents will present their arguments orally to the Supreme Court. Typically, this is to allow the Justices to ask questions about each argument so they can make a more informed decision.
5. Opinion of the Court - After considering all briefs and oral arguments, the Court will give their official opinion. This will typically contain the Opinion of the Court (5+ Justices) as well as several concurring and dissenting opinions.

Primary Resources

With that out of the way, the real question is: where do you go to find all this stuff? Unsurprisingly, the primary source for all things related to the US Supreme Court is the Official Website. The following pages will be the most important for the casual follower:

• The Home Page - You will find the calendar for the current month as well as a list of any oral arguments that are taking place that week. Argument Days are highlighted in red on the calendar and are generally set for the full term. Specific cases are usually assigned to a specific Argument Day a few months out. Currently, cases have only been assigned to October and November.

• Oral Arguments - Every case that is heard by the Supreme Court will have recorded and transcripted Oral Arguments. It may take a day or two for them to be posted once Oral Arguments have been heard.

• Orders of the Court - When cert is granted or denied it is generally announced in an Order List.

• Opinions of the Court - When an opinion is announced, it is posted here.

• Docket Search - If you want to locate the petition and briefs of any particular case, it's best done through the docket search. Look up the relevant docket number for a full list of all proceedings and orders related to that case.

SCOTUSblog

If that all seems too complicated, then my recommendation will always be for SCOTUSblog. They have a page that lists all cases for the current term that provides a great summary of the questions presented. The individual case pages go even further by providing primary source links to the Docket Number, all relevant opinions, and any major statutes involved in the case. They also maintain their own version of the proceedings and orders list, which is color-coded to help users quickly find the important entries.

For those of you not wishing to dig into the minutiae of a case, SCOTUSblog has some of the most accurate reporting out there on Supreme Court case news that cuts through some of the legalese while not being sensationalist.

Other Resources

Thompson Reuters' casetext and Cornell's Legal Information Institute are both fantastic resources for information on the US Code (and many other regulations).

C-SPAN's Supreme Court Coverage provides an alternative to the official audio feed for Oral Arguments. Most notably, C-SPAN's video feed shows static images of the current speaker. If you listen to Oral Arguments live, this can be invaluable for learning the voices of the Justices.

Wikipedia is not necessarily an unbiased source, but it is great for summarizing cases, laws, terms, etc.

r/SupremeCourt is a great community for those looking to talk just about Supreme Court cases and developments. Opinions of the Court are automatically posted, which makes for a fun community towards the Spring and early Summer.

Where Do I Start?

So you want to dip your toe into all of this legal nonsense. Where do you start? My personal opinion would be the following:

1. Pick a case you want to follow. This can be one from the past few years or one that is on the docket for this term. Ideally, it's on a topic you find interesting, like gun control or abortion. I'll use Trump v. US as an example.
2. Go to Scotusblog and find the case file.
3. Read the SCOTUSblog Coverage articles to get a high level summary.
4. Read the Brief of Petitioners as well as the Brief of Respondents to hear how both sides are arguing the case. If a law is referenced more than once, look it up, because it's probably important.
5. Listen to Oral Arguments, ideally on C-SPAN so you know who is speaking.
6. Read the Opinion of the Court. If all you read is the syllabus, you'll still be more educated than most people out there.
7. Read any dissenting opinions, as they often help paint the full picture. These are some of the brightest legal scholars in the country. Both sides often make compelling arguments.
8. If it's a current case, engage in discussion on /r/SupremeCourt and /r/ModeratePolitics. You'll learn a lot just by engaging with the community.

Final Thoughts

If you've never read a legal brief before, this can all feel a bit overwhelming. But the more you read them, the more they begin to make sense. Remember, if the case were straightforward, it would likely not be something the Supreme Court needs to discuss. What we're left with are complicated situations, ambiguous laws, and a level of nuance that typically doesn't make for exciting headlines. Luckily, this is a spectator sport, so take all the time you need.