The cases are heard by the Supreme Court only if four of the nine sitting judges vote for the case to be heard by the Supreme Court.
<u>Explanation:</u>
Not all matters that are brought in front of the Supreme Court are worth its time. Thus, the nine justices that work as subordinates to the Supreme Court decide whether a matter is worthy enough to be heard by the Supreme Court/Chief Justice.
Thus, for a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, the 'Writ of Certiorari' needs to be granted by at least four subordinate justices.
"Original jurisdiction" cases are rare, with the Court hearing one or two cases each term. The most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court is on appeal from a circuit court. A party seeking to appeal a decision of a circuit court can file a petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
