The Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch
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The Supreme Court is the only court
created by the Constitution.
The Constitution gives Congress the power
to create other inferior courts
The US has a dual court system (state and
national)
Jurisdiction: the authority of a court to
hear a case.
The Supreme Court
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Usually limits its caseload to appeals
involving constitutional questions and
interpretations of federal law.
The S.C. (and other inferior courts) have
the VERY important power of judicial
review: the power to decide if
any act of government is
constitutional.
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The S.C. is the FINAL AUTHORITY on the
meaning of the Constitution.
A Few Facts about the Supreme
Court
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Justices are appointed by the President.
Lifetime appointments.
They “sit” from the first Monday in
October through June/July.
Only about 1/3 of the Court’s decisions are
unanimous; most are split.
Majority opinion: the Court’s decision
Dissenting opinions: often written by
justices who did not agree with the
Salaries
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current salary for the
Chief Justice is $223,500
per year, while Associate
Justices make $213,900.
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Antonin Scalia (died 2016)
Anthony Kennedy
Samuel Alito
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Critical Thinking and Discussion
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Why is it important that Supreme Court
justices are appointed to their positions for
life?
Explain how Presidential appointments can
affect decisions made by the Court.