How the Supreme Court really works: after 30 years covering the Court of The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse takes us behind the scenes for a look at how nine Justices determine the law of the land.

• Author: Greenhouse, Linda
• Position: NATIONAL

By the time the nine Supreme Court Justices emerged from behind a red-velvet curtain to hear the day's argument one morning last March, all 400 seats in the courtroom were filled. Some people had waited in line all night for a chance to witness history.

The question before the Justices was a momentous one: Does "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" in the Constitution's Second Amendment give individuals the right to have a loaded gun at home for stir-defense? Despite years of national debate over gun control, the Supreme Court had never before in the 217 years since the adoption of the Bill of Rights addressed this critical question directly.

Outside the Court's majestic building across from the Capitol, people chanted and held up signs for the TV cameras. But in the courtroom, all was calm as the black-robed Justices, eight men and one woman, questioned the lawyers presenting the case.

"What is reasonable about a total ban on [gun] possession?" asked Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

"What about a requirement that you obtain a license to have a handgun?" asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And so on, until each Justice with a question had a chance to probe the various arguments.

And then it was over. "The case is submitted," Roberts declared. The Justices disappeared behind the curtain, and the audience filed quietly out.

Most of those people, I suspect, had only a vague idea of what would happen next. During the nearly 30 years that I covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times, I came to understand the Court's obscure practices--the details that don't make their way into textbooks--and I got to know the Justices themselves.

SWING VOTES

Of those on the Court when I arrived in 1978, only Justice John Paul Stevens remains, still vigorous and playing tennis at 88. I covered the arrival of the first female Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, in 1981, and her retirement 25 years later.

It's hard today to grasp the impact it had when President Ronald Reagan named a woman to the highest court at a time when few women were judges, or even partners in major law firms. In addition to being a groundbreaker, O'Connor played a pivotal role as the "swing vote" that decided many important cases. (Since her retirement in 2006, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy seems to have assumed that role.)

Justices typically come to the Court in middle age, and do not shed their personalities at the courthouse door. The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, for example, kept up his weekly poker game and loved to bet on everything from the outcome of an election to the depth of an overnight snowfall on the Court's steps. Ginsburg, the Court's second and currently the only female member, can look severe in photos, but she actually loves fashion and has appeared on several "best-dressed" lists.

In some ways, the Justices are regular folks. Except for the Chief Justice, who receives a car and driver, they drive themselves to work. Their salaries ($208,100 and $217,400 for the Chief Justice) are no higher than those of young lawyers at major big-city law firms. When they're not on the bench, the robes come off and they wear standard business attire.

NO MEDIA GLARE

The Supreme Court has been largely shielded from the media glare that the other two branches of government have become used to. TV cameras and recording devices are not allowed in the courtroom. In fact, after the grueling interrogations that Justices must endure as part of the Senate confirmation process (after being nominated by the President), they don't have to answer to anyone: They're appointed for life, and can't be hauled before Congress to testify. They don't have to answer reporters' questions, and can decide if and when to speak in public--most often at legal conferences or schools.

The lack of TV coverage lets the Justices retain a degree of privacy almost unthinkable for such powerful people. Few people recognize them. I once saw a tourist hand a camera to Justice Byron R. White outside the Court's public cafeteria, and, having no idea that the tall gray-haired man was one of the nine Justices, ask him to take his family's picture. White, who retired in 1993, wordlessly complied.

But while the Court may seem like it's shrouded in secrecy, I would argue that it's actually the most transparent of the three branches of government: Everything the Court does is on the record. Opinions are signed. During oral arguments, the Justices ask questions without staffers passing them notes, as often happens in congressional hearings. Transcripts of oral...