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The Supreme Court
• Alexander Hamilton once said– “the judiciary is beyond
comparison the weakest of the three departments of power”
• Do you agree?
Why do we have a Supreme Court?
• Established by Article III of the U.S. Constitution– “the judicial power of
the United States shall be vested in one supreme court”
No…
• February 1, 1790– Merchants Exchange
Building• New York, NY
• 1st Chief Justice of Supreme Court– John Jay
Where is the next meeting?
• When Washington, D.C. is finished– Supreme Court moves to
U.S. Capitol Building• In the basement
• 1814– After DC was attacked by
British• Supreme Court meets in a
bar for a year until Capitol Bldg. is fixed.
Then, they finally get their own home.
• 1935– Franklin D. Roosevelt has
the Supreme Court building built in Washington, D.C.
Development of the Supreme Court
• 1789– Established the Judiciary Act
• Established a 3 tier structure for the federal court system– Local and district courts– Courts of appeals– Supreme Court
– That’s all they got done….literally• The country was too young for there to be a lot of Supreme
Court cases. – Even Chief Justice John Jay worked part time as U.S. Ambassador
to Britain
The Supreme Court gains Strength
• 1801– New Chief Justice John Marshall believed the
court needed to be stronger.
• 1st major Supreme Court case– Marbury vs. Madison• S.Ct ruled that they have final voice in deciding the
constitutionality of government issues. – Called “judicial review”
Today’s Supreme Court • Very influential.
• 9 justices make up the court
• 1 Chief Justice– Justice who presides over
the court.
• Today’s Chief Justice– John Roberts
How do you become a Supreme Court Justice?
• Anybody can become a Supreme Court justice– No Constitutional age or
professional requirement
• Must be appointed by POTUS– Needs approval from Senate– Appointed for life!!!
• Most recent– Judge Sonia Sotomayor
• Appointed by Pres. Obama
How does the Supreme Court work? • Supreme Court serves primarily as an appeals
court. – 90% of its cases come from lower courts– Other cases heard by S. Court refer to
• Disputes between 2 states (Ohio vs. Michigan)• Disputes between state and federal government (Maryland
vs. US)
• How do you win an appeal to the Supreme Court? – Must write out a writ of certiorari
• A written request to have your case heard by the Supreme Court. – If they say yes, your case goes on the docket
» Schedule of cases for the Supreme Court to get to.
What steps are taken once a case is taken by the Supreme Court?
• Briefs given to justices– They read privately in chambers
• Oral arguments given by attorneys on case– Have timed arguments (usually 30 minutes)
• Conference– Led by Chief Justice
• Talk about case, new cases, and other judicial issues
• Preparation of opinions– Need a majority vote for an appeal to take place.
– Most senior member of “Concur” votes writes the opinion• Concur = agree, but for different reasons
– Most senior member of “Dissent” votes writes the opinion• Dissent = disagree
• Announcement of decisions– Announcement made to public