First off, I beg you not to use this West Wing inspired acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States. Isn't "US Supreme Ct." short enough for you?

Now, here's how precedent works in the federal judiciary. In the 94 judicial districts, the bankruptcy and district court opinions are merely persuasive precedents. In unrelated cases, other courts may choose to follow them, but they are not required to do so.

Next level up: the 13 Courts of Appeals. There are twelve regional circuits and a specialized Federal Circuit. A regional circuit's opinion is not controlling precedent outside of the circuit, but is only persuasive. So, to say a decision by a circuit or district court "applies throughout the US" is at best misleading. Quite often, circuits reach contradictory results on the same questions of law, and for that we go to...

The Supreme Court of the United States. You don't need a law degree to know that all federal courts are bound by its decisions on matters of federal law. However, the highest court of each state is actually the final authority on matters of state law, so long as such rulings are not inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution or federal law that validly preempts state law.

Whom do I bill for this?