How can the Supreme Court's decision on a case affect the country?

Supreme Court justices hear and decide cases that have broad legal and political significance. For this reason opinions issued by the Court are most meaningful in terms of their substantive impact on society. For Court opinion s to ga rner nat iona l impact t he cooperat ion of cit izens, orga nized g roups, government officials and various key institutions, including churches, schools, police agencies, the media, and so on is required. These entities must embrace the change that Court decisions command. If public reaction to Supreme Court decisions is decidedly negative, the Court would have suffered an important repudiation. This can translate into a loss of public esteem and decreased legitimacy, the central source of its constitutional power.