<P> At the end of a week in which the Court has heard oral arguments, the Justices hold a conference to discuss the cases and vote on any new petitions of certiorari . The Justices discuss the points of law at issue in the cases . No clerks are permitted to be present, which would make it exceedingly difficult for a justice without a firm grasp of the matters at hand to participate . At this conference, each justice--in order from most to least senior--states the basis on which he or she would decide the case, and a preliminary vote is taken . </P> <P> Former Justice Scalia professed frustration that there is little substantive discussion, while former Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote that this makes the conference more efficient . The votes are tallied, and the responsibility for writing the opinion in the case is assigned to one of the justices; the most senior Justice voting in the majority (but always the Chief Justice if he is in the majority) makes the assignment, and can assign the responsibility to him - or herself . </P> <P> The justice writing the opinion for the court will produce and circulate a draft opinion to the other justices . Each justice's law clerks may be involved in this phase . In modern Supreme Court history only a few justices, such as former Justice Antonin Scalia, have regularly written their own first drafts . Once the draft opinion has been reviewed, the remaining Justices may recommend changes to the opinion . Whether these changes are accommodated depends on the legal philosophy of the drafters as well as on how strong a majority the opinion garnered at conference . A justice may instead simply join the opinion at that point without comment . </P> <P> Votes at conference are preliminary; while opinions are being circulated, it is not unheard of for a justice to change sides . A justice may be swayed by the persuasiveness (or lack thereof) of the opinion or dissent, or as a result of reflection and discussion on the points of law at issue . </P>

Who decides which cases the government should ask the supreme court to review