The Supreme Court can't punish the lower courts but it can overturn them and write opinions that bash them. That is very embarrassing to a judge and they try to

The Supreme Court can't punish the lower courts but it can overturn them and write opinions that bash them. That is very embarrassing to a judge and they try to avoid it. No judge likes getting overturned. But that language won't really make a huge difference. Most cases going to court aren't totally frivolous. The frivolous patent trolls avoid court like the plague because they will lose and their patents will be invalidated. Instead they just extort small payments instead of going to court. Some people like NewEgg and Adam Carolla are fighting them, but most just hand over the money.