Supreme Court of the United States

The Court's central role is to interpret the Constitution and federal law, while resolving concrete legal disputes. Article III of the Constitution establishes one Supreme Court and permits Congress to create lower federal courts; the Court's jurisdiction is further defined by statute. Its appellate jurisdiction covers cases from federal courts of appeals, federal district courts in particular circumstances, and the highest courts of the states when a federal question is presented. The Court also exercises original jurisdiction, principally in disputes involving states, although Congress has authorized lower courts to hear many related proceedings.

Judicial review—the power to invalidate governmental action that conflicts with the Constitution—is associated with Marbury v. Madison (1803). The decision did not create the concept from nothing, but it firmly established the Court's authority to declare federal statutes inconsistent with the Constitution.¹ The Court generally decides only justiciable controversies, not abstract requests for legal advice.

The Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices. The Constitution sets no fixed number of justices; Congress has changed the size several times, and the current nine-member structure dates from 1869.² Justices are nominated by the president and appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. They hold office during good behavior, ordinarily for life, and may leave through retirement, resignation, or death; impeachment and conviction provide a constitutional removal mechanism.

The Court's term begins on the first Monday in October. Most cases arrive through petitions for a writ of certiorari, and at least four justices must vote to grant review under the Court's rule of four. After written briefs and usually an hour of oral argument, the justices deliberate privately. A majority opinion states the judgment and its reasoning; concurring and dissenting opinions explain alternative views. The Court's decisions bind lower courts on controlling questions of federal law.

The Court first met in 1790 and initially occupied temporary quarters in New York and Philadelphia before the federal government moved to Washington, D.C. It began hearing cases in its own building, designed by Cass Gilbert in a classical style, in 1935.³ Its institutional influence expanded as federal regulation, civil rights, administrative government, and the national economy produced disputes requiring constitutional interpretation.

Landmark decisions have addressed judicial review, federal power, racial segregation, speech, religious liberty, criminal procedure, voting, privacy, and separation of powers. Decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954) rejected legally mandated public-school segregation, while later cases have revised or limited earlier doctrines. The Court does not enforce its judgments through an independent police force; implementation depends on lower courts, executive officials, Congress, state governments, and public acceptance of judicial authority.

The Court's docket is largely discretionary rather than automatic. Thousands of petitions may be filed in a term, but the justices select only a small fraction for plenary review; many orders are issued without signed opinions. The Court also resolves some matters through summary dispositions, emergency applications, and the so-called shadow docket, a term used by scholars and commentators for important orders issued outside the ordinary briefing-and-argument process.

Original-jurisdiction cases are uncommon, and the Court often appoints a special master to gather evidence and recommend findings in disputes between states. The building's famous courtroom is not the whole institution: the justices' chambers, law clerks, attorneys, reporters, librarians, and administrative staff support the work. Proceedings are generally open to the public, but the Court has traditionally relied on same-day audio recordings rather than routine live television coverage.⁴ Its archive and official opinions preserve a record that is central to American legal history.

Judicial review

The authority of courts to assess governmental actions and invalidate those that conflict with the Constitution.

Certiorari

An order by which the Supreme Court agrees to review a lower-court decision.

Original jurisdiction

The authority to hear a case first, rather than reviewing a lower court's judgment.

Rule of four

The informal practice under which at least four justices must vote to grant a petition for certiorari.