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