Chapter Twelve Section Three
"The United States Supreme Court"
We are pretty safe in our understanding in the fact that the United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. There is no court higher that a case could go to. The Supreme Court is the only court that has both original and appellate jurisdiction. Original jurisdiction (the first court to hear a trial) is found in the Supreme Court in trials that involve diplomats from foreign countries and cases in which a state is involved. Appellate jurisdiction (The case may have had an earlier start but opinions differed and a new decision was desired) in most cases that come to the Supreme Court. Close to 6,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court, although they hear less than 150 a year. Some cases are remanded or sent back to the original court by the Supreme Court. Whatever the decision, a Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed.
United States Supreme Court Justices.
Back Row: Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, and Elena Kagan.
Front Row: Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Back Row: Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, and Elena Kagan.
Front Row: Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
the Power of the Supreme Court
There is a great deal of power and prestige enjoyed by the Supreme Court. The legislative and executive branches have to follow the Court's rulings. Politics tend to not be part of the Supreme Court.
Judicial Review
Early on the main power of the Supreme Court was established in the form of Judicial Review. Judicial Review means that the Supreme Court can review any federal or state law and decide if it is in agreement with the United States Constitution. If they decide that it is not, they can nullify, or cancel that law. This power makes the Supreme Court the final authority on the Constitution and all laws in our nation.
Judicial Review was established officially in 1803 in the case of Marbury v. Madison. This case has it's origin in the presidency of John Adams. Adams had signed an order to make William Marbury a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia during the last moments of Adams' presidency. When Thomas Jefferson took office as the third President of the United States, he ordered his Secretary of State, James Madison, to ignore carrying out Adams's order.
Marbury was upset with Jefferson's decision and took the case to the Supreme Court. Marbury believed that the Supreme Court had power to decide the case due to the Judiciary act of 1789. In hearing the case, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote an opinion denying Marbury's claim. Marshall said that the Constitution did not give the Court jurisdiction to decide the case. Marshall set out three basic principles of judicial review in his dissertation:
1.) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
2.) When there is a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution must be followed,
3.) the judicial branch has a duty to uphold the Constitution.
The power of judicial review serves as an important check on the legislative and executive branches. It prevents them from straying from the Constitution in the creation and enforcing of any new laws.
Judicial Review was established officially in 1803 in the case of Marbury v. Madison. This case has it's origin in the presidency of John Adams. Adams had signed an order to make William Marbury a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia during the last moments of Adams' presidency. When Thomas Jefferson took office as the third President of the United States, he ordered his Secretary of State, James Madison, to ignore carrying out Adams's order.
Marbury was upset with Jefferson's decision and took the case to the Supreme Court. Marbury believed that the Supreme Court had power to decide the case due to the Judiciary act of 1789. In hearing the case, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote an opinion denying Marbury's claim. Marshall said that the Constitution did not give the Court jurisdiction to decide the case. Marshall set out three basic principles of judicial review in his dissertation:
1.) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
2.) When there is a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution must be followed,
3.) the judicial branch has a duty to uphold the Constitution.
The power of judicial review serves as an important check on the legislative and executive branches. It prevents them from straying from the Constitution in the creation and enforcing of any new laws.
Checking the Court's Power
- Judicial Review does not make the Supreme Court all powerful. Congress can go around the Supreme Court ruling by changing the law in question. they can also adopt an amendment to the Constitution which changes the Constitution. The Supreme Court needs the executive branch to carry out its decisions. While the executive branch usually enforces the Supreme Court rulings, this isn't always the case. In the situation of Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice Marshall ordered the state of Georgia to stop violating federal land treaties with the Cherokee nation in 1832. President Jackson chose not to enforce the order and said "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."
Controversy and the Court
There have been times that the Supreme Court has been under controversy. Some decisions upset various groups of citizens. In turn, they may force Congress to pass new laws or amendments to bypass the Supreme Court's ruling. In 1857, one of the most controversial court decisions was Dred Scott v. Sandford. Scott had been a slave taken to a free part of the nation. He believed that since he had lived in a free region, he should be able to seek his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared that the Constitution did not prohibit slavery in the territories and that African Americans could not sue because they were not actually citizens. This ruling was overturned in 1868 with the Fourteenth Amendment, stating that all "persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States. Other controversial Supreme Court decisions have been Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Supreme Court Justices
There is a total of nine members to the Supreme Court, eight associate justices and one chief justice. No women had served on the Supreme Court until 1981 when President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to the Court. President Bill Clinton appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Court in 1993. There are three female justices currently on the Supreme Court; Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Both Sotomayor and Kagan were appointed by President Barack Obama. All of the current justices but one (Kagan) have served as circuit court judges and other judiciary positions. Many have been involved in education, serving as professors at various universities of law. One former President of the United States has served on the Supreme Court, William Howard Taft was the Chief Justice from 1921-1930. The current Chief Justice is John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush.
The first African American justice, Thurgood Marshall, was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. Marshall had been active in the civil rights cause, serving as an attorney for the NAACP. Marshall was the chief counsel for the NAACP in the Brown v. Board of Education court case. When Marshall retired in 1991, he was replaced by another African-American, Clarence Thomas.
Supreme Court justices serve for life. Associate justices currently receive a salary of $213,900. The Chief Justice receives a salary of $223,500.
The Constitution gives the President the power to appoint Supreme Court justices, with the consent of the Senate. While the Senate usually approves the President's choices, this hasn't always been the case. Presidents usually try to appoint someone who shares their political beliefs or view of the law. Once appointed, a justice is under no obligation to follow the President's line of thinking. If a President has the chance to appoint several justices to the Court, it's likely that their views will be reflected in the Court's decisions. This gives the President a way to affect the decisions of the Supreme Court far into the future.
The first African American justice, Thurgood Marshall, was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. Marshall had been active in the civil rights cause, serving as an attorney for the NAACP. Marshall was the chief counsel for the NAACP in the Brown v. Board of Education court case. When Marshall retired in 1991, he was replaced by another African-American, Clarence Thomas.
Supreme Court justices serve for life. Associate justices currently receive a salary of $213,900. The Chief Justice receives a salary of $223,500.
The Constitution gives the President the power to appoint Supreme Court justices, with the consent of the Senate. While the Senate usually approves the President's choices, this hasn't always been the case. Presidents usually try to appoint someone who shares their political beliefs or view of the law. Once appointed, a justice is under no obligation to follow the President's line of thinking. If a President has the chance to appoint several justices to the Court, it's likely that their views will be reflected in the Court's decisions. This gives the President a way to affect the decisions of the Supreme Court far into the future.