The Supreme Court Ch. 11.3

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are (from left) Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

JURISDICTION Riding the circuit: until 1891 SC Justices traveled the country and held court Jurisdiction: Original Cases involving representatives of foreign governments Certain cases in which a state is a party Appellate (most cases heard in SC) Cases appealed from lower courts Cases where an act of Congress was held unconstitutional Cases appeals from the highest court of a state on claims involving federal law or the Constitution

SUPREME COURT JUSTICES 9 Justices has been the set # since 1869 Salary set by Congress at $173,600 with the Chief Justice receiving $181,400 Can be REMOVED if: impeached and convicted of crimes of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors

DUTIES OF THE SC Hear and rule on cases Decision Making: Decide which cases to hear Decide the case itself Determine an explanation for the decision = opinion Chief Justice: leadership role ALL have limited duties related to the 12 federal judicial circuits Law Clerks help them: read all appeals write memos summarizing key issues of each case sometimes help draft opinions

CHOOSING & APPOINTING JUSTICES Politics plays a role: generally choose from their political party American Bar Association’s Committee on the Federal Judiciary has been consulted by every president Interest Groups: labor unions, civil rights groups, etc. influence the selection Sitting Justices themselves: write letters of recommendation