ELI5: Can anyone take a case to the Supreme Court?

No, not just anyone can take a case to the Supreme Court, because you must follow strict rules, climb a ladder of smaller courts first, and have the Court agree that your problem is important enough for them to hear.

Think of the legal system like your school:

• If you have an argument with a classmate over a toy on the playground, you do not run straight to the school principal.
• First, you talk to the playground monitor.
• If you are still upset, you talk to your classroom teacher.
• Only if the problem is huge, and no one else can fix it, does the principal get involved.

• You need real harm: You cannot go to court just because you are curious or mad about something on TV. You must have a real disagreement where you actually lost money, had your rights hurt, or were treated unfairly.
• You must climb the ladder: You have to start at your local trial court. If you lose and think the judge made a mistake, you ask a middle court (an appeals court) to look at it. Only after losing there can you ask the Supreme Court.
• It must be about big rules: The Court does not care about everyday squabbles like who broke a window. They only care about cases involving the Constitution—the master rulebook of the entire country.
• They choose what to hear: Thousands of people ask the Court for help every year, but the judges only say "yes" to about one out of every one hundred cases. They pick issues that affect millions of people, not just one person.