How does a case end up being tried in the US Supreme Court?
A case can get to the Supreme Court through [1] an appeal of a federal question from a case in the highest State court, [2] an appeal from a lower federal appellate court. In very limited situations a case can be brought directly to the Supreme Court (e.g. disputes between two states – that is, between the states themselves). If the case is from a state supreme court, then there must be a federal legal question in the case which if reversed would alter the result of the case. The Supreme Court is almost never obligated to grant an appeal, unlike most appellate courts. In fact, the Court hears only a small fraction of the cases that petition for cert. One of the major reasons that the Supreme Court hears a case is to resolve a split in opinion among the federal circuit appeals courts. For example, when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (covering the states of Texas, Louisiana, & Arkansas) decides an issue differently than the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (covering the states of New York,
