"The Steps to the Supreme Court follows two real cases--one civil, one criminal--as they work their way through the system from initial charges and complaints all the way up to the Supreme Court. Step by step, you'll track the criminal case involving the murder trial of Paul House, following the defendant from the night of the murder through his conviction, death sentence, appeals, and final chance for exoneration. The controversial civil case concerns the Ten Commandments being displayed on public property. You'll follow the parties from the plaintiffs' first filing of their suits through the Supreme Court decisions and back to their aftermath in the lower courts, where judges struggle to make practical law from a complex and divided ruling."--P. [4] of cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-328) and index.

Preface. "How did you get here?" -- Introduction. "The judicial power of the United States": how our courts were framed and how they function -- Part I. "No reasonable juror": the death-row ordeal of Paul House. 1. The murder of Carolyn Muncey -- 2. The murder trial of Paul House -- 3. Paul House's appeals in the Tennessee state courts -- 4. Paul House's federal habeas corpus petition and hearing -- 5. Paul House seeks relief from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals -- 6. Paul House's appeal to the United States Supreme Court -- 7. The House case returns to the federal and state courts -- Part II. "An establishment of religion": the Ten Commandments and crosses in the courts. 8. A tale of two cities and two cases -- 9. The hearings and the opinions in the McCreary County and Van Orden cases -- 10. The Supreme Court appeals in the Ten Commandments cases -- 11. The impact of Justice Breyer's concurrence on pending Ten Commandments cases -- 12. The influence of politics in religion cases : the Mt. Soledad cross case -- 13. Religious politics, judicial snarls, and the Mojave Desert cross case -- Conclusion -- Appendix of Supreme Court opinions. I. Opinions in House v. Bell -- II. Opinions in McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky -- III. Opinions in Van Orden v. Perry.