Highest Court in the U.S.

 Created to interpret (explain) the Constitution.  Judicial Review: Cases looked over to see if they are Constitutional/ Un-Constitutional Nine Justices (8 Associate Justices, 1 Chief Justice) ( 1 st S.C. there were 6 Judges)  Chief Justice today: John Roberts  Their decision is final (no Court above them)

 Supreme Court has Original and Appellate Jurisdiction. (Power: Cases go straight to S.C.)  Appellate Courts have: Appellate Jurisdiction: Hear case being appealed  District Courts have: Original Jurisdiction: Hear case first  They choose which cases they want to hear Over 7000 cases submitted per year—they only hear about 200 (1 in every 35)

 No witnesses in Supreme Court  They read notes from previous cases and hear lawyer arguments  Vote, majority vote wins  They write essay on majority opinion and dissenting (disagreeing) opinion

 Chief Justice makes $208,000/year  Associate Justices make $199,000/year  The youngest Supreme Court appointee was Joseph Story (32). First Chief Justice John Jay  First Woman Justice: Sandra Day O’Connor ( )  First African American Justice: Thurgood Marshall ( )  The oldest sitting justice was Oliver Wendell Holmes, who served until he was 90

 Chief Justice of the United States …………JOHN G. ROBERTS, JR.  Associate Justice  John Paul Stevens  Antonin Scalia Anthony M. Kennedy  David H. Souter  Clarence Thomas  Ruth Bader Ginsburg  Stephen G. Breyer  Samuel A. Alito, Jr.  Retired Justice ………………..………………… SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR