 Although federal judges are prohibited from commenting publicly " on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court " , Judge Alfred T. Goodwin has stated that circuit court judges will occasionally create circuit splits to " hold the Supreme Court 's toes to the fire " and force the Supreme Court to overrule precedent in other circuits . Goodwin also wrote that " some of our number actually found it intellectually stimulating to challenge the Supreme Court from time to time " but that those judges were " usually were rewarded by a Nine Zip reversal " . Likewise , Judge Charles R. Wilson noted that when he drafted dissenting opinions , he would consider whether the parties planned to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of the United States , and " [ i ] f I believe that the parties will [ file an appeal ] , I write the dissent with the Supreme Court in mind " . C. Steven Bradford has also argued that circuit courts will " disregard a Supreme Court precedent if convinced that the Supreme Court would not follow it " . 
