_How Cases "Arise."_--A case "arises" under the Constitution, laws, or treaties whenever a suit is filed involving a right or privilege thereunder. Until a case "arises," that is, until it comes before the courts in due form, they will take no notice of it. When President Washington in 1793 sought the opinion of the Supreme Court on certain points involving our obligations to France under the treaty of alliance of 1778 it declined to answer his question, holding that it could give opinions only in cases properly brought before it. =The Regular Federal Courts.=--The Constitution declares that the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Supreme Court, therefore, is the only federal tribunal which owes its existence to the Constitution, the others being created by statute. Even as to the Supreme Court Congress has considerable power of control, since it determines the number of judges of which it shall be composed, and the amount of their compensation. But it cannot remove any judge except upon impeachment, or reduce his compensation after he has once been appointed. _The Supreme Court_ is at present composed of one Chief Justice and eight associate justices. It holds its sessions in the city of Washington from October to May of each year. Practically all the cases which it hears are those appealed from the lower courts. When a case has been argued, the court holds a consultation at which the points involved are considered and a decision is reached. The Chief Justice then requests one of his associates to prepare the opinion of the court, or he may prepare it himself, after which it is scrutinized by the court at a second conference and approved. Any member of the court who disagrees with the majority may file a dissenting opinion, a right frequently taken advantage of. The concurrence of at least five of the nine judges is necessary to the validity of a decision, and as a matter of fact, many important decisions have been rendered in recent years by a bare majority of the court. The opinions rendered are published as the _United States Reports_, of which there are now more than 200 volumes. They constitute the great authoritative source of the constitutional law of the United States, are studied by lawyers and judges, and are relied upon by the courts as precedents for the decisions of future cases involving similar points of law.[97] There is a reporter who arranges and publishes the opinions, a clerk who keeps the records, and a marshal who attends the court, preserves decorum, and enforces its orders. [97] The justices of the Supreme Court wear black silk gowns when holding court. The Chief Justice sits in the middle of a row of chairs, his associates being arranged on his right and left in the order of seniority of service.