Discuss the various paths that a case can take to arrive before the Supreme Court.In particular,discuss the Court's original jurisdiction and its process for granting a writ of certiorari.In your answer,be sure to describe the kinds of cases to which the Court is likely to grant "cert."

There are three components to this question.
a.Original jurisdiction of the Court: Original jurisdiction is the authority to initially consider a case.Article III of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in a limited number of cases including (1)cases between the United States and one of the 50 states, (2)cases between two or more states, (3)cases involving foreign ambassadors or other ministers,and (4)cases brought by one state against citizens of another state or against a foreign country.
b.Process of granting a writ of certiorari: Most justices participate in a "certiorari pool" in which their law clerks work together to evaluate the petitions.Each petition is reviewed by one clerk,who writes a memo for all the justices participating in the pool,summarizing the facts and issues and making a recommendation.Clerks for the other justices add their comments to the memo.After the justices have reviewed the memos,any one of them may place any case on the discuss list,which is circulated by the chief justice.If a case is not placed on the discuss list,it is automatically denied certiorari.Cases placed on the discuss list are considered and voted on during the justices' closed-door conference.For certiorari to be granted,four justices must be convinced that the case satisfies Rule 10 of the Rules of the U.S.Supreme Court.Rule 10 states that certiorari is not a matter of right but is to be granted only when there are special and compelling reasons.
c.Kinds of cases likely to be granted certiorari: The kinds of cases that satisfy Rule 10 include conflicting decisions by two or more circuit courts,conflicts between circuit courts and state courts of last resort,conflicting decisions by two or more state courts of last resort,decisions by circuit courts on matters of federal law that should be settled by the Supreme Court,a circuit court decision on an important question that conflicts with Supreme Court decisions,cases that present important questions of civil rights or civil liberties,and cases in which the federal government is an appellant.