1. The Supreme Court

2. Composition of the Court Judiciary Act of 1789 Six justices, including 1 Chief Justice Changed 6 times since Current number is 9 justices, including 1 Chief Justice set in 1869

3. Judicial Review Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is the final authority in all cases that deal with: the Constitution; act of Congress; or treaty of the United States Judicial Review Power to decide the constitutionality of an act of government Not in the Constitution, but intended by the Framers of the Constitution Article III, Sect. 2 (jurisdiction) and Article VI, Sect. 2 (Supremacy Clause) Established by the Marbury vs. Madison (1803) case

4. Jurisdiction Original Jurisdiction: diplomatic representatives of other nations disputes between two or more states disputes between a state and the federal government Appellate Jurisdiction Any case from the state or federal level can make its way to the Supreme Court most come from federal court

5. Appealing to the Supreme Court SCOTUS has the power to decide what cases it wants to hear 8000 cases get appealed to the SCOTUS per year, but only a few hundred are accepted Writ of Certiorari Acceptance of a case “Rule of Four” – four justices must agree to hear a case

6. Appealing to the Supreme Court Amicus Briefs written statements from each party involved in a case Oral Arguments each side is given 30 minutes to present their case Justices are allowed to ask questions Conference meeting of the justices to presents their views on the case

7. Appealing to the Supreme Court Decision stare decisis: let previous decision stand unchanged (precedent) overturn send back to appellate court for further review Opinions Majority Opinion legal reasoning for how the case was decided Concurring Opinion opinion that agrees with the decision for different legal reasons Dissenting Opinion opinion that disagrees with the majority/concurring opinions of the court can be used by future majority opinions