The solicitor general of the United States, the third-ranking official in the Justice Department, is assisted by five deputies and about 20 assistant solicitors general. The solicitor general's primary function is to decide, on behalf of the United States, which cases will and will not be presented to the Supreme Court for review. Whenever an executive branch department or agency loses a case in one of the courts of appeals and wishes a Supreme Court review, that department or agency will request that the Justice Department seek certiorari. The solicitor general will determine whether to appeal the lower court decision.

Many factors must be taken into account when making such a decision. Perhaps the most important consideration is that the Supreme Court is limited in the number of cases it can hear in a given term. Thus, the solicitor general must determine whether a particular case deserves extensive consideration by the Court. In addition to deciding whether to seek Supreme Court review, the solicitor general personally argues most of the government's cases heard by the High Court.