Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States
Original: Optimager Vector: Ipankonin · Public domain · source
Name	Supreme Court of the United States
Established	1789
Jurisdiction	United States
Location	Washington, D.C.
Type	Presidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Authority	United States Constitution, Article III
Terms	Life tenure, subject to impeachment and removal
Positions	9 (statutory)
Chief judge	Chief Justice of the United States

Contents

Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal tribunal established by the United States Constitution with ultimate appellate authority over federal and constitutional questions involving actors such as the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and state governments including the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Court sits in Washington, D.C. and decides matters arising under statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, treaties such as the Treaty of Paris (1783), and constitutional provisions implicated in disputes involving figures like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Roberts, and institutions such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Its decisions have shaped doctrines affecting entities including the National Labor Relations Board, United States Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

History

The Court was created by the United States Constitution and organized under the Judiciary Act of 1789, enacted by the First United States Congress and signed by George Washington. Early development featured landmark episodes involving Chief Justices like John Marshall and controversies such as Marbury v. Madison that established judicial review and affected relations with the Jefferson administration and the Republican Party of the 1790s; later eras included expansion during the Civil War involving figures like Abraham Lincoln and postwar decisions engaging the Reconstruction Acts and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Twentieth-century transformations linked the Court to cases involving the New Deal, clashes with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, and constitutional battles over rights articulated in decisions tied to actors such as Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education, and legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Contemporary history covers appointments amid presidential terms of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and institutional responses involving the United States Senate and its Judiciary Committee.

Statute sets the number of seats, historically altered by Congress during conflicts involving presidents such as Andrew Johnson and proposed changes during the New Deal. Today the Court ordinarily comprises nine Justices including the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices; current and recent occupants include nominees confirmed through procedures involving the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and votes in the United States Senate, with notable confirmations connected to figures like Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices are nominated by the President of the United States and subject to advice and consent from the Senate, and removal is limited to impeachment proceedings as with officials such as Samuel Chase and impeachment processes analogous to those used for William Jefferson Clinton and Richard Nixon (resigned). The Court maintains internal practices including the role of the Solicitor General of the United States in representing executive interests and traditions associated with institutions like the Harvard Law School and the Yale Law School among many clerks and alumni.

The Court exercises original jurisdiction in narrow categories involving parties such as states like State of Rhode Island and foreign diplomats under Article III, and broad appellate jurisdiction over federal courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and state supreme courts such as the Supreme Court of California. Its power of judicial review—derived from decisions like Marbury v. Madison—permits invalidation of statutes passed by the United States Congress and actions by the President of the United States, affecting federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission. The Court’s interpretation of constitutional provisions such as the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution shapes federalism disputes involving the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, interstate commerce questions implicating the Commerce Clause (United States Constitution), and regulatory authority over entities like the Federal Reserve System.

Cases reach the Court by writs of certiorari from the United States Courts of Appeals, by certification from appellate panels, or under original jurisdiction when states or foreign ministers are parties; the Clerk of the Supreme Court manages filings while the Reporter of Decisions and the Library of Congress record opinions. The Court follows conference procedures where the Justices vote and assign opinions, and utilizes briefs including amicus curiae filings from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, and the CATO Institute. Oral arguments in the Court chamber bring advocates like the Solicitor General of the United States and private attorneys before the bench, and decisions result in majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions authored by Justices whose reasoning often cites precedents like Plessy v. Ferguson, Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, and statutory interpretation can invoke the Administrative Procedure Act and doctrines such as stare decisis and substantive due process.

The Court’s docket includes transformative rulings: Marbury v. Madison established judicial review; Brown v. Board of Education dismantled segregation and influenced civil rights efforts led by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Roe v. Wade (later revisited) shaped debates involving the National Right to Life Committee and reproductive rights advocacy; United States v. Nixon clarified executive privilege amid the Watergate scandal; Obergefell v. Hodges recognized same-sex marriage impacting advocacy groups like Human Rights Campaign; and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission affected campaign finance and actors such as political action committees. Other consequential decisions include Miranda v. Arizona on custodial interrogation, Gideon v. Wainwright on right to counsel, New York Times Co. v. United States on prior restraint during national security crises like the Vietnam War, and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius on the limits of the Affordable Care Act. These rulings have shaped law affecting institutions such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Defense, the Federal Trade Commission, and countless state judiciaries, while provoking political responses from presidents, members of Congress, and civil society organizations.