Supreme Court

1
Supreme Court

• Highest Court in the nation made up of nine
  justices. One Chief Justice and eight Associate
  Justices.
• Appointed by the President and must be confirmed
  by the Senate.
• Serve lifetime terms.

2
Supreme Court

• Hears cases that deal with
• Ambassadors
• State v. State
• Citizen v. Citizen of different states
• U.S. Federal Government v. Anyone
• Issues that deal with civil rights

3
Supreme Court

• How does the court make a ruling?
• They view the Constitution as a living document.
  Discuss this.
• What is the precedent, or star? decisis, in
  similar cases?
• What is the social impact of the case?

4
Supreme Court

• The court receives thousands of requests per
  year. A request for judicial review by the
  Supreme Court is called a writ of
  certiorari (link).
• Approximately 8,000 writs of certiorari are filed
  each year. The court heard approximately 72 cases
  in 2006.

5
Supreme Court

• Justices are so private, the Supreme Court is one
  of the very few areas that TV cameras are not
  allowed.
• Cases are drawn by artists, but not recorded for
  public viewing.
• What you are about to see is very rare.

6
The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States as of 2007. Top row (left to right)
Stephen G. Breyer, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, and Samuel A. Alito. Bottom row (left
to right) Anthony M. Kennedy, John Paul Stevens,
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Antonin G. Scalia,
and David H. Souter.