The United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Justices
• The main job of the nation’s top court is to
decide whether laws are allowable under
the Constitution. 
• The Supreme Court has original
jurisdiction only in cases involving
foreign diplomats or a state. 
• All other cases come to the Court
on appeal.
The Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
• The Court chooses the cases it hears. 
• In cases the Court refuses to hear, the
decision of the lower court stands. 
• The Court has final authority on cases
involving the Constitution, acts of
Congress, and treaties.
1. What information
does this graph
show?
It shows the
Supreme Court
caseload from 1945
to 2000.
2. What do the numbers
on the vertical axis
indicate?
The vertical axis
indicates the number
of cases.
3. What time period
does the graph
cover?
It covers the years
1945 to 2000.
4. In which year did the
Supreme Court issue
the fewest opinions?
The fewest opinions
were issued in 1995.
5. What change has
occurred in the caseload
of the Supreme Court?
It has increased.
6. In general, how does
the number of cases
appealed to the
Supreme Court compare
with the number it
hears and decides?
The number of appealed
cases is always greater
than those that it hears
and decides.
The Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
• Eight associate justices and one chief
justice make up the Supreme Court. 
• After deciding a case, the justices issue
a written explanation, called the Court’s
opinion.
The Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
• The president appoints Supreme Court
justices, with Senate approval. 
• The president’s decision may be
influenced by the Justice Department,
American Bar Association, interest
groups, and other Supreme Court
justices.
The Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
• Supreme Court justices are always
lawyers. 
• A successful law career, political support,
and agreement with the president’s ideas
are factors in who gets appointed.
The Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
Why might the Senate reject a president’s
nominee for Supreme Court justice?
Throughout history, the Senate has
rejected many presidential nominees to the
Supreme Court because of doubts about
the qualifications or the legal philosophy of
the persons nominated.
Powers of the Court
• The legislative and executive branches
must follow Supreme Court rulings. 
• Because the Court is removed from
politics and the influences of specialinterest groups, the parties involved in
a case are likely to get a fair hearing.
Powers of the Court (cont.)
• The Court’s main job is to decide whether
laws and government actions are
constitutional, or allowed by the
Constitution. 
• It does this through judicial review–the
power to say whether any law or
government action goes against the
Constitution.
After a suit is brought to the
Court, the Court can declare
that law unconstitutional.
Powers of the Court (cont.)
• The Constitution does not give the
Supreme Court the power of judicial
review. 
• The Court claimed the power when it
decided the case Marbury v. Madison. 
• Read about the case now on page 211 in
your textbook. 
• Make a list of the most important events
in the order that they occurred.
 President
Adams appointed 58 new federal
judges on his last night in office. 
 Adams’s
Secretary of State, John Marshall, was
supposed to deliver the signed commissions,
but he failed to do so. 
 William
Marbury and three other appointees
did not receive their commissions. 
 Marbury
petitioned the new Secretary of State,
James Madison, to deliver them.




The new president, Thomas Jefferson, told Madison
not to deliver them because he wanted to repeal all
58 last-minute judges. 
Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order
Madison to deliver the commissions. 
The Supreme Court decided that Marbury’s rights
had been violated. 
Supreme Court Chief Justice Marshall said it was
the duty of the court to, “say what the law is.”
Powers of the Court (cont.)
• In the Court’s opinion, Chief Justice John
Marshall set forth three principles of
judicial review: 
• (1) The Constitution is the supreme law of
the land. 
• (2) If a law conflicts with the Constitution,
the Constitution rules. 
• (3) The judicial branch has a duty to
uphold the Constitution. 
• Thus, it must be able to determine when
a law conflicts with the Constitution and
nullify that law.
Powers of the Court (cont.)
• The power of judicial review serves as a
check on the actions of the executive and
legislative branches. 
• Congress writes laws in general
language. 
• Through its rulings, the Supreme Court
interprets the meaning of laws, helping
the police and other courts apply them.
Powers of the Court (cont.)
Why is the power of judicial review an
important part of the system of checks and
balances?
By declaring acts of Congress or executive
orders unconstitutional, the Supreme Court
can check the actions of the legislative and
executive branches of government to keep
them from straying too far from the
Constitution when they make and carry out
laws.
Limits on the Courts’ Power
• The Court depends on the executive
branch and state and local officials to
enforce its decisions. Usually they do. 
• Congress can get around a Court ruling
by passing a new law, changing a law
ruled unconstitutional, or amending the
Constitution.
Limits on the Courts’ Power (cont.)
• The president’s power to appoint justices
and Congress’s power to approve
appointments and to impeach and remove
justices serve to check the power of the
Court. 
• The Court cannot decide that a law is
unconstitutional unless the law has been
challenged in a lower court and the case
comes to it on appeal. 
• The Court accepts only cases that
involve a federal question. 
• It usually stays out of political questions.
Checking for Understanding
Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on
the left.
__
B 1. the power of the Supreme Court to
say whether any federal, state, or
local law or government action goes
against the Constitution
__
A 2. in accordance with the Constitution
A. constitutional
B. judicial review
Checking for Understanding (cont.)
Infer The Supreme Court refuses to
hear many more cases than it accepts.
What happens in a case when the
Supreme Court refuses to hear it?
The decision of the lower court remains
unchanged when the Supreme Court
refuses to hear a case.
Checking for Understanding (cont.)
Describe Explain how a person becomes
a Supreme Court justice.
He or she becomes a Supreme Court
justice through presidential appointment
and Senate confirmation.
 Chief
Justice John
Roberts
 Associate
Justice
Clarence Thomas
 Associate
Justice
Anthony Kennedy
 Associate
Justice
Antonin Scalia
 Associate
Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg
 Associate
Justice
Stephen Breyer
 Associate
Justice
Samuel Alito
 Associate
Justice
Sonia Sotomayor
 Associate
Justice
Elena Kagan
6
men
 3 women
 Various backgrounds,
religions, ethnicities,
and cultures.
Close
Do you think it is important for members of
the Supreme Court to represent a cross
section of society?
Your Turn
1. How are Supreme Court justices selected?
2. Who makes up the Supreme Court?
3. Who was the first African American to sit on the
Supreme Court?
4. What does “constitutional” mean?
5. What happens if a law is found to be
unconstitutional?
6. What important power did the Marbury v.
Madison case establish?
7. How can Congress get around a Supreme Court
ruling?
8. How can the president check the power of the
Supreme Court?