On February 1, 1790, Chief Justice John Jay convened the first session of the newly created United States Supreme Court. The justices, properly attired in black and red robes, sat on a high bench before spectators who included the mayor of New York, the sheriff, New York judges, and a host of other dignitaries. However, only when the fourth of the six newly appointed justices arrived the next day did the Court actually begin its business. What business the Court had to conduct was primarily ceremonial. After only ten days, the Court adjourned for six months.

But the session did receive press notice. One newspaper reported that the new body's first meeting attracted more attention than “any other event connected with the new Government.” Stories about the new Court were printed in newspapers throughout the nation. Such extensive press coverage of the Court would not be a regular occurrence, however. From the origins of the Court, the justices have received press coverage when newspapers felt the Court was newsworthy. The press thoroughly covered the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. One national newspaper devoted three of its issues to coverage of the decision, and two others devoted two. A New York newspaper, anticipating the case of Gibbons v. Ogden, said that “[i]nquiries are hourly made respecting the anxiously-looked-for decision of the Supreme Court in this important case.”