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”

Where is the Supreme Court located?Has it always been there?

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.

Supreme Court Building

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

The End…