8.3 The Supreme Court

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8.3 The Supreme Court
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Jurisdiction

• The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in
  only two instances cases that involve diplomats
  from foreign countries and in disputes between
  states

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Jurisdiction

• It has final authority in any case involving the
  Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties with
  other nations its decisions are binding on all
  lower courts
• When the Court refuses to hear a case, the
  decision of the lower court stands

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Organization and Duties

• The Supreme Court has 8 associate justices led by
  a Chief Justice Congress sets this number and
  has the power to change it

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Organization and Duties

• The main duty of justices is to hear and rule on
  cases they choose which to hear from among the
  thousands appealed to the Court each year, then
  decide the case and issue a written explanation
  for the decision, called the Courts opinion

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Selecting the Justices

• The President appoints Supreme Court justices
  with approval of the Senate, vacancies open due
  to resignation or death of a justice

President Obama and Sonia Sotomayor, his first
Supreme Court justice appointment
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Selecting the Justices

• In 2005, President Bush appointed John G.
  Roberts, Jr. as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

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Selecting the Justices

• Presidents choose nominees who are likely to be
  approved, the decision is influenced by the
  Attorney General and other Justice Department
  officials, other Supreme Court justices, the
  American Bar Association, and labor and civil
  rights groups

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Background of the Justices

• Justices are always lawyers, although it is not a
  requirement, they have served as judges or held
  other public positions prior to appointment

Elena Kagan served as Dean of Harvard Law
Thurgood Marshall was the NAACP lawyer in Brown
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Background of the Justices

• The first African American justice, Thurgood
  Marshall, joined the Court in 1967

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Background of the Justices

• The first female justice, Sandra Day OConnor,
  was appointed in 1981

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Powers of the Court

• The legislative and executive branches of
  government must follow the Supreme Courts
  rulings it is removed from politics and the
  influences of special-interest groups so the
  parties involved will get a fair hearing

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Judicial Review

• Judicial Review means the Supreme Court can
  review any federal, state, or local law or action
  to see if it is constitutional, or allowed by the
  Constitution
• If the Court decides a law is unconstitutional,
  it has the power to nullify or cancel, that law
  or action

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Marbury vs. Madison

• The Constitution does not give the Supreme Court
  the power of judicial review in 1803 the case of
  Marbury v. Madison established that the Supreme
  Court had the power to decide whether laws passed
  by Congress were constitutional

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Marbury vs. Madison

• John Marshalls opinion set forth three
  principles of judicial review
• The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
• If there is a conflict between the Constitution
  and any other law, the Constitution rules
• The Judicial Branch has a duty to uphold the
• Constitution and must be able to nullify
  unconstitutional laws

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Limits on the Supreme Court

• Under the system of checks and balances, there
  are limits on the power of the federal courts,
  including the Supreme Court

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Limits on the Supreme Court

• The Court depends on the executive branch as well
  as state and local officials, such as Governors
  or police officers, to enforce its decisions

Orval Faubus Governor of Arkansas (Left), Little
Rock Nine (Middle), President Eisenhower (Right)
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Limits on the Supreme Court

• Congress can get around a Court ruling by passing
  a new law, or changing a law ruled
  unconstitutional
• Congress and state legislatures can also try to
  undo Court rulings by adopting a new amendment to
  the Constitution

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Limits on the Supreme Court

• Another limit is the Court can only hear and make
  rulings on cases that come to it all cases must
  be an actual legal dispute, a person cannot
  simply ask the Court to decide whether a law is
  constitutional
• The Court will not rule on a law or action that
  has not been challenged on appeal and accepts
  only cases that involve a federal question