Of all the government branches, the Supreme Court probably has the largest effect on your daily life, yet you probably know very little about how it works or what it does.
Here are the top things you need to know about the Supreme Court if you’re interested in politics, law, or any history in general.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the world
The Supreme Court is the highest court well know all around the world, and it is an important part of our governmental system.
The justices serve life terms, and they can only be removed from their position if they commit a crime or abuse their power.
There are nine justices on the court, and they are all nominated by the President. If there is ever a tie vote, the case will be re-argued until it has been decided.
It’s also worth noting that every justice who has served on the Supreme Court since 1789 has been white and male.
Finally, you should know that while most cases never make it to the Supreme Court level because lower courts have already made decisions based on federal law, not every state follows federal law when interpreting state laws.
A good example is the legal drinking age in each state: some states allow people 18 years old and older to drink alcohol while others prohibit consumption for people under 21 years old.
The Supreme Court hears cases that involve federal law
They only review cases when there is an issue with federal law. They are required to hear every case before them because it’s their job.
But they can also choose not to take on a case, which is called a grant of certiorari.
There are four justices who form the majority opinion and decide if a case will be heard.
The chief justice assigns cases to each justice based on their preferences and expertise in certain areas of law.
If any one justice refuses, then the court will not take up that particular case unless two or more justices agree that it should be heard.
Cases don’t always go through this process: some get dismissed for various reasons like lack of jurisdiction (because it does not involve federal law), lack of standing (because you are too involved in the case), or just lack of merit.
A dismissal with prejudice means the case cannot be brought back again but dismissal without prejudice means that it could be revisited.
A ‘Stay’ order prevents a lower court from hearing a case until the higher court has issued its decision.
An en banc is a meeting of all judges within that t; an en banc decision must have at least six votes in favor for it to stand.
The Supreme Court has the power to overturn laws that it deems unconstitutional
The US Supreme Court has the power to overturn laws that it deems unconstitutional.
This includes state laws, local ordinances, and international treaties, but it does not include acts of Congress.
The court’s decisions are final and cannot be overturned by any other court.
The nine justices of the court are appointed by the President and confirmed with a majority vote by the Senate.
They serve for life or until they retire or resign from their seat on the bench at their own discretion.
These days, though, most retire when they turn 70 years old because this is considered to be the age of retirement in many professions.
The late Antonin Scalia was an Associate Justice who served on the Supreme Court for over 30 years before he died in 2016.
His absence left an empty seat on the bench which may affect future cases before the Supreme Court because there may now be only eight members who hear them instead of nine.
The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices
The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices, who serve life terms.
The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and confirmed by a majority vote in Senate.
Each justice has their own area of expertise, so it’s important for there to be a diversity among them
In order for an opinion from the Supreme Court to become law, it must be backed by at least five votes with no dissenters.
Additionally, because this court deals with laws that affect every person in the state, the decisions can have far-reaching effects on every day citizens.
The justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Supreme court justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Once on the bench, justices don’t have to abide by term limits and may serve until they choose to retire.
There is no limit as to how many terms a justice can serve. The only exception would be if they were impeached.
A vacancy in the court typically occurs when a justice dies or retires.
If there’s more than one vacancy, President will appoint someone to fill that spot while Congress reviews the nomination with hearings and an up-or-down vote in the Senate.
Justices serve for life
There are nine justices serving on the supreme court, appointed by the president and confirmed by a majority vote in Congress.
Justices serve for life and can only be removed from office through impeachment, which is rare.
The last time a justice was impeached was 1805 when Justice Samuel Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted in the Senate.
Most recently, Judge William Pryor’s nomination was derailed after he made controversial comments about Roe v. Wade at his confirmation hearing.
In contrast, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been on the bench since 1993 with no sign of retirement anytime soon.
For example, during President Obama’s first term, she cast an average of 5 dissenting votes per year-just two less than Chief Justice John Roberts who cast an average of 7 dissenting votes per year.
Ginsburg is known as the Notorious R.B.G. because her opinions are so often not just dissents but come loaded with scathing rhetoric that make them hard to read or understand!
