1. Judicial Branch of the US
Many pictures in this PowerPoint are from the
Supreme Court Historical Society.

2. US Supreme Court Building

3. Supreme Court Members
Front: Thomas, Scalia, CJ Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsberg
Rear: Sotomayer, Breyer, Alito, Kagan

4. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Appointed by George W. Bush (2005)
Attended Harvard Undergraduate and Law School
Law Clerk for William Rehnquist
Served as Special Asst to the Atty General, Assc. Council to President Reagan
Judge for the Federal Appeals Court

6. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia Appointed by Reagan (1986)
Circuit court judge for the 5th district
Served as a Law Professor UVA, Univ of Chicago, Georgetown, Stanford
Attended Georgetown, Harvard & Univ of Fribourg (Switzerland)

7. Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Appointed by Reagan (1988)
Judge for the 11th circuit court
Served as a Constitutional Law Univ of Pacific, Army National Guard, US Court of Appeals
Attended Stanford, London School of Economics, Harvard

8. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Appointed by George H. W. Bush (1991)
8th Circuit court judge
Asst Atty General (MO), Asst Secretary for Civil Rights (US Dept of Ed), Circuit Court of Appeals, Chairman US EEOC
Attended Holy Cross College, Yale Law School

9. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Appointed by Clinton (1993)
Circuit court judge for the 2nd district
Served as a Law Clerk for US District Court Judge, Research Assc& Assc director Columbia Law School Project, Rutgers & Columbia, US Court of Appeals Judge
Attended Cornell, Harvard, Columbia

10. Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer Appointed by Clinton (1994)
Circuit court judge for the 10th district
Served as Law Clerk (US Supreme Ct), Asst to US Asst Atty General, Harvard, Univ of Rome, Judge of US Circuit Court of Appeals
Attended Stanford, Magdalen College (Oxford), Harvard

11. Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. Appointed by George W. Bush (2006)
Had served on the US Court of Appeals for 15 years
Former Asst. to US Attorney, New Jersey
Attended Princeton University & Yale Law School

12. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor Appointed by Barack H. Obama (2009)
First Hispanic Justice
Appeals court judge for 2nd Circuit, Federal Judge for NY
Asst. District Attorney for NY, Private Practice
Attended Princeton & Yale Law School

13. Associate Justice Elena Kagan Appointed by Obama (2010)
Attended Princeton, Oxford, Harvard
Served as law clerk for Justice T Marshall
Former US Solicitor General, Harvard Law Dean,

14. Federal Court System

15. The Constitution The Ultimate Legal Document
All laws must agree with the Constitution or they will be found Unconstitutional!
Courtroom

16. Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
Original/Exclusive: The Supreme Court is the first court to hear the case.
Appellate: The Supreme Court reviews decisions made by lower courts.

17. Key Judicial Terms Plenary Review-oral arguments before the court
Sitting-when justices hear & deliver opinions
Recess-when justices consider the business of the court
Brief-written documentation submitted by the lawyers to explain and argue the case that is presented before the court.
Judicial Review-the court can review any federal or state law to see if it is agreement with the Constitution

18. Terms continued
Writ of Centiorari-directs the lower courts to send its records on the case to the Supreme Court (looking for errors)
Majority Opinion-written documentation of the opinion of the majority voters
Minority Opinion- written documentation of the opinion of the minority voters
Concurring Opinion-written documentation of the majority but, with a different reason why

19. Authority of the Court From Article 3 of the Constitution
Original Jurisdiction: foreign dignitaries involved, cases where states are involved
Appellate Jurisdiction: where most cases are derived from (usually only hears cases with significant legal or Constitutional questions)
Final legal authority of the land

20. Appointments By an act in 1948 the set # of associate justices at 8
1 Chief Justice + 8 Associate Justices = 9 total justices (no tied votes)
A justice is appointed for life (death or choose to retire)

21. The Supreme Court @ Work
The court begins its term the first Monday in October until the next first Monday in October the following year. (June/July is usually the time that the court has off (vacation).
About 7,000 applications are filed during a term. 1,200 applications are also filed that may be acted on by one justice.
Oral arguments = about 100 cases per term
50-60 other cases are decided without oral arguments
A terms written opinions can add up to 5,000 pages!

22. Checks on the Judicial Branch
The president appoints justices
The President is responsible for carrying out the laws
The Senate must approve all judicial appointments
The Senate has the ability to impeach justices if they have inappropriate conduct.

23. Location
The Supreme Court building was built where the Old Capital Prison was located during the Civil War.
Address:
One First Street NE
Washington DC 20543

24. Famous Justices Warren Burger William H. Taft John Marshall
If for some reason the hyper links don’t work go to the Supreme Court Historical Society
& then click on History of the Court, Timeline

25. US Supreme Court Trivia