<P> A term of the Supreme Court commences on the first Monday of each October, and continues until June or early July of the following year . Each term consists of alternating periods of around two weeks known as "sittings" and "recesses ." Justices hear cases and deliver rulings during sittings; they discuss cases and write opinions during recesses . </P> <P> Nearly all cases come before the court by way of petitions for writs of certiorari, commonly referred to as "cert". The Court may review any case in the federal courts of appeals "by writ of certiorari granted upon the petition of any party to any civil or criminal case ." Court may only review "final judgments rendered by the highest court of a state in which a decision could be had" if those judgments involve a question of federal statutory or constitutional law . The party that appealed to the Court is the petitioner and the non-mover is the respondent . All case names before the Court are styled petitioner v. respondent, regardless of which party initiated the lawsuit in the trial court . For example, criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the state and against an individual, as in State of Arizona v. Ernesto Miranda . If the defendant is convicted, and his conviction then is affirmed on appeal in the state supreme court, when he petitions for cert the name of the case becomes Miranda v. Arizona . </P> <P> There are situations where the Court has original jurisdiction, such as when two states have a dispute against each other, or when there is a dispute between the United States and a state . In such instances, a case is filed with the Supreme Court directly . Examples of such cases include United States v. Texas, a case to determine whether a parcel of land belonged to the United States or to Texas, and Virginia v. Tennessee, a case turning on whether an incorrectly drawn boundary between two states can be changed by a state court, and whether the setting of the correct boundary requires Congressional approval . Although it has not happened since 1794 in the case of Georgia v. Brailsford, parties in an action at law in which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction may request that a jury determine issues of fact . Two other original jurisdiction cases involve colonial era borders and rights under navigable waters in New Jersey v. Delaware, and water rights between riparian states upstream of navigable waters in Kansas v. Colorado . </P> <P> A cert petition is voted on at a session of the court called a conference . A conference is a private meeting of the nine Justices by themselves; the public and the Justices' clerks are excluded . The rule of four permits four of the nine justices to grant a writ of certiorari . If it is granted, the case proceeds to the briefing stage; otherwise, the case ends . Except in death penalty cases and other cases in which the Court orders briefing from the respondent, the respondent may, but is not required to, file a response to the cert petition . </P>

Term of office for justices in supreme court