Guide to the Supreme Court of the United States

The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the judicial branch of the federal government. That means the Supreme Court is equal in importance to the president, who heads the executive branch, and Congress, which heads the legislative branch. Congress makes laws, the president enforces them, and the Supreme Court interprets them to make sure they are properly enforced.

The Supreme Court's main job is to review federal (national) and state cases that involve rights or duties under the U.S. Constitution, the document outlining the laws and guidelines for lawmaking and enforcement in the United States. The Court does this to make sure that all federal and state governments are obeying the Constitution.

For example, if Congress passes a law that violates the First Amendment freedom of speech, the Supreme Court can strike the law down as unconstitutional. If the president violates the Fourth Amendment by having the Federal Bureau of Investigation search a person's home without a warrant, the Supreme Court can fix the violation. If a state court violates the Constitution by convicting someone of a crime in an unfair trial, the Supreme Court can reverse the conviction.

As the highest court in the United States government, the Supreme Court also has the job of interpreting federal law. Congress creates law to regulate crimes, drugs, taxes, and other important issues across the nation. When someone is accused of violating a federal law, a federal court must interpret the law to decide whether the accused has broken the law. In this role, the Supreme Court makes the final decision about what a federal law means.

The Federal Court System

The Supreme Court was born in 1789, when the United States adopted the Constitution. Article III of the Constitution says, "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." With this sentence, the Constitution made the Supreme Court the highest Court in the judicial branch of the federal government. It also gave Congress the power to create lower courts.

Congress used that power to create a large judicial (court) system. The system has three levels. Trial courts, called federal district courts, are at the lowest level. There are ninety-four federal district courts covering different areas of the country. Each federal district court handles trials for cases in its area.

Federal district courts hold trials in both criminal and civil cases. Criminal trials involve cases by the government against a person who is accused of a crime, like murder. Civil trials involve cases between private parties, such as when one person accuses another of breaking a contract or agreement.

When a party loses a case in federal district court, she usually may appeal the decision to a U.S. court of appeals. Federal courts of appeals are the second level in the federal judicial system. There are twelve courts of appeals covering twelve areas, or circuits, of the country. For example, the district courts in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont are part of the Second Circuit. Appeals from district courts in those states go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

During an appeal, the losing party asks the court of appeals to reverse or modify the trial court's decision. In essence, she argues that the trial court made an error when it ruled against her.

The party who loses before the court of appeals must decide whether to take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the third and highest level of the federal judicial system. The process of taking a case to the U.S. Supreme Court is described below.

State Court Systems

Most states have a judicial system that resembles the federal system. Trial courts hold trials in both criminal and civil cases. Most states also have special courts that hear only certain kinds of cases. Family, juvenile, and traffic courts are typical examples. There also are state courts, such as justices of the peace and small claims courts, that handle minor matters.

Appeals from all lower courts usually go to a court of appeals. The losing party there may take her case to the state's highest court, often called the state supreme court. When a case involves the U.S. Constitution or federal law, the losing party sometimes may take the case from the state supreme court to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bringing a Case to the U.S. Supreme Court

There are three main ways that cases get to the U.S. Supreme Court. The most widely used method is to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case. This is called filing a petition for a writ of certiorari. The person who files the petition, usually the person who lost the case in the court of appeals, is called the petitioner. The person on the other side of the case is called the respondent. The Court only grants a small percentage of the writ petitions it receives each year. It usually tries to accept the cases that involve the most important legal issues.

The second main way to bring a case to the Supreme Court is by appeal. An appeal is possible only when the law that the case involves says the parties may appeal to the Supreme Court. The losing party who files the appeal is called the appellant, while the person on the other side of the case is a called the appellee.

The third main way to bring a case to the Supreme Court is by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. This petition is mainly for people who have been imprisoned in violation of the U.S. Constitution. For example, if an accused criminal is convicted and jailed after the police beat him to get a confession (a police act that is illegal), the prisoner may ask the Supreme Court to release him by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The person who files the petition is called the petitioner, while the person holding the petitioner in jail is called the respondent.

The process of arguing and deciding a case in the Supreme Court is similar no matter how the case gets there. The parties file briefs that explain why they think the lower court's decision in their case is either right or wrong. The Supreme Court reviews the briefs along with a record of the evidence presented during trial in the federal district court or state trial court. The Supreme Court also may allow the parties to engage in oral argument, which is a chance for the lawyers to explain their clients' cases. During oral argument, the Supreme Court justices can ask questions to help them make the right decision.

After the justices read the briefs, review the record, and hear oral argument, they meet privately in chambers to discuss the case. Eventually, the nine justices vote for the party they think should win the case. A party must receive votes from five of the nine justices to win the case. The justices who cast the votes for the winning party are called the majority, while the justices who vote for the losing party are called the minority.

After the justices vote, one justice in the majority writes an opinion to explain the Court's decision. Other justices in the majority may write concurring opinions that explain why they agree with the Court's decision. Justices in the minority may write dissenting opinions to explain why they think the Court's decision is wrong.

The Supreme Court's decision is the final word in a case. Parties who are unhappy with the result have no place to go to get a different ruling. The only way to change the effect of a Supreme Court decision is to have Congress change the law, have the entire nation change, or amend, the Constitution, or have the president appoint a different justice to the Court when one retires or dies. This is part of the federal government's system of checks and balances, which prevents one branch from becoming too strong.

Supreme Court Justices

Supreme Court justices are among the greatest legal minds in the country. Appointment to the job is usually the high point of a career that involved some combination of trial work as a lawyer, teaching as a professor, or service as a judge on a lower court.

Under the Constitution, the president appoints Supreme Court justices with the advice and consent of the Senate when one of the nine justices retires, dies, or is removed from office. Supreme Court justices cannot be removed from office except by impeachment and conviction by Congress for serious crimes. That means the process of appointing a new justice usually begins when one of the justices retires or dies.

The president begins the process by nominating someone to fill the empty seat on the Court. The president usually names someone who he thinks will interpret the Constitution favorably to his political party's wishes. In other words, democratic presidents typically nominate liberal justices, while republican presidents nominate conservative justices.

The next step in the process is for the Senate Judiciary Committee to review the president's recommendation. If the Senate is controlled by the president's political party, the review process usually results in Senate approval of the president's selection.

If the president's political opposition controls the Senate, the review process can be fierce and lengthy. The Judiciary Committee calls the nominee before it to answer questions. The Committee's goal is to determine whether the nominee is qualified to be a Supreme Court justice. The Committee also uses the investigation to try to figure out how the nominee will decide controversial cases, such as cases involving abortion. After its investigation, the Committee recommends whether the Senate should confirm or reject the president's nomination. Two-thirds of the senators must vote for the nominee to confirm him as a new Supreme Court justice.

The Supreme Court has changed greatly over the years. One of the Court's greatest liberal periods was when Chief Justice Earl Warren headed the Court from 1953 to 1969. In 1954, the Warren Court decided one of its most famous cases, Brown v. Board of Education, in which it forced public schools to end the practice of separating black and white students in different schools.

The Warren Court was followed by one of the Court's greatest conservative periods, under Chief Justice Warren E. Burger from 1969 to 1986, followed by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist from 1986 onward. In one of the Rehnquist Court's most important decisions, Clinton v. Jones (1997), the Court said the president may be sued while in office for conduct unrelated to his official duties. The decision allowed Paula Jones to sue President William J. Clinton for sexual harassment.

Unfortunately, the justices on the highest court in a nation of diversity have not been very diverse themselves. Until 1916, all Supreme Court justices were white, Christian men. That year, Louis D. Brandeis became the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court. In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American justice. Clarence Thomas became just the second in 1991. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined her there in 1993.