ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States

Imagine you're playing a really big game with your friends. It's so big that you need a set of rules to make sure everyone knows what to do. The Supreme Court is like a group of people who play a big game too, except their game is called the "law."

So, to make sure they play the game fairly, they have a set of rules called "procedures." Here are some of the most important procedure rules:

1. Cases that come before the Supreme Court have to go through lower courts first. It's like playing a game and practicing before you get to the final round.

2. When a case finally gets to the Supreme Court, the judges read and study the legal papers that people send in. These papers explain what the case is about and what they think should happen.

3. The Supreme Court picks the cases it wants to hear. They don't have to hear every case that comes their way, just like you don't have to play every game someone suggests.

4. Once the Court decides to hear a case, the lawyers for each side get to argue their points in front of the justices. It's like each side gets a turn to explain why they think they're right.

5. Finally, the justices vote on what they think should happen in the case. If a majority of them agree on something, it becomes the final decision.

Overall, the Supreme Court's procedures are meant to make sure that each case is carefully considered and that the decision is fair for everyone involved, kind of like the rules of any game meant to be fair for all players.