1. THE SUPREME COURT “Did I Do That?”

2. Remember ► Do not copy slides with Review on them. ► Do not copy slides with Notice on them. ► Pay special attention to anything that may be underlined. ► Do not copy anything in Italics.

5. REVIEW ► What are the three branches of government? ► Which of the following makes the laws? ► Which of the following enforces the laws? ► Which of the following interprets the laws? ► What does “Rule of Law” mean?

6. UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT ► The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. ► It’s motto “Equal Justice Under the Law” ► Under American law, a person is assumed innocent until proven guilty.  This is hard to achieve because everyone has their own ideas and biases.  It is the job of the court system (mainly the supreme court) to make sure this is achieved.

8. How it began. ► Article III of the Constitution established the supreme court. ► It also gave congress the power to establish lower courts. ► The federal court system exists along with the 50 state court systems. These two sets of courts exist together and also must work together. (How might it be difficult for state and federal courts to exist and work together?)

9. The way that the U.S. Federal Court System, and the State court system interact is very interesting. Most of the time Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. This means they have the final say. In other cases the two have concurrent jurisdiction this means that they share the power.

10. The Supreme Court Cont. ► The job of the Supreme court is to make sure laws are allowable under the Constitution. ► The Supreme Court is made up of 8 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice. (Why do you think that there is an odd number of justices? ► The Supreme Court decides which cases it will hear and which it will not. If a case is not heard by the supreme court, then the decision of the lower court stands.

13. How to become a Supreme Court Justice ► Most always are lawyers ► Successful career in law before being chosen ► Usually have experience serving as a judge in lower courts. ► Political views normally coincide with presidents. ► President nominates you ► Senate and House confirm you. ► You are justice for life.

14. John Roberts is sworn in as Chief Justice by senior Associate Justice John Paul Stevens in the East Room of the White House on the same day as his confirmation, September 29, 2005.

15. Samuel Alito is sworn in as an Associate Justice by Chief Justice John Roberts in the East Room of the White House on the day after his confirmation, February 1, 2006.

16. Judicial Review ► A large part of what the supreme court does each day is called judicial review. ► This is the power to say whether any local, state, or federal law is in agreement with the constitution of the U.S. ► The Supreme Court also determines the meaning of the laws. (What does “use a gun mean”?)