No tour. I was self guided.

There are two ways to see the court in session -- hearing cases. Line up very early and see the whole session (or as much as you want). Line up less early (10 am may be ok but I don't know for sure) and get to sit in back for about 3 minutes. But the court isn't hearing any more cases until October. You can tour the building without waiting in line. It is best if you go when the court is NOT having hearings because then you can go into the courtroom and see where they hear the cases. There is also a 30-minute "lecture" which is a short intro to the court, the history, the building which takes place in the courtroom (again, only when not holding a hearing). The supreme court site is pretty clear.

Unfortunately, you never know how early to arrive. For the 3 minute line you can probably arrive between 7-8AM. If you want to hear an entire argument you must arrive by 6AM. Regarding your camera, etc. there are lockers for you to put your material in.

We did not do the guided tour. We did it ourselves .We also had plenty of other things to do like you. So suggest do the tour yourself at a time convenient to you.

A Beautiful Building. NIce to look, appreciate and learn. Earmark One to Two Hours. Café will be open. No Advance Tickets required

The line forms in the front plaza and it's very obvious where it is. And I although they generally start taking people at 9:30-10:00, I would plan to arrive to get your space in line much sooner. Space is very limited and you might be suprised by the turnout. Capitol police/security is generally pretty helpful if you just ask. Definitely something worth doing if you have the time, you could easily be sitting in on a moment in history!

I got there at 7:30 AM, which was perfect

March isn't a particularly busy time in D.C., so I'd say you don't need to arrive any more than 10-15 minutes. Passes to get in quicker aren't available. Lastly, yes, you'll be able to do a self-guided tour. Enjoy!

There are no public guided "tours". There is a self guided tour of the museum exhibits downstairs and a courtroom lecture- neither of which you need to arrange in advance. Just check the supremecourt.gov website the day before to see what time the lectures are going to be and arrive in time to get through security and in the line about fifteen minutes before the lecture. It is in the actual courtroom and is around a half an hour long. No pictures are allowed while in the courtroom

Should have said "one person, one spot"