Guide Note

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States, deciding key matters of Constitutional Law. The Supreme Court is sometimes referred to as SCOTUS. The Supreme Court primarily serves as an appellate court, but has jurisdiction in some cases.

Fast Facts

Chief Justice: John Roberts
Members: Nine Supreme Court Justices and eight Associate Justices
Established by Article III of the Constitution
Headquarters: U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC

Supreme Court Cases

The Supreme Court hears about 5,000 cases annually, but only takes on between 100-150 of those cases. Cases that are heard in the Supreme Court involve a question regarding the U.S. Constitution, or cases that have been appealed in lower courts. Some cases heard in the Supreme Court involve treason or disputes with foreign countries.

Supreme Court Rulings

When the justices of the Supreme Court render a decision, all of the courts in the U.S. follow the precedent that the ruling has set. So cases ruled upon in the Supreme Court affect future similar cases throughout the country.

Supreme Court Justices

Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President of the United States. The nominee will then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Justices will serve until their retirement, death, or conviction of impeachment.

Current Justices

Categories

Groups and Organizations | U.S. Government | Justice System | Supreme Court

View Note History

The U.S. Supreme Court

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: Supreme Court of the United States and Recent Rulings
Wikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States
The New York Times: U.S. Supreme Court articles
MSN Encarta: Supreme Court of the United States entry
The Supreme Court Fellows Program
The Supreme Court Historical Society
The Oyez Project: Supreme Court database and archive

U.S. Supreme Court Background and Information

Official Site: About the Supreme Court
Library of Congress: Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court Historical Society: Researching the Court
WashingtonPost.com: Inside the Supreme Court
HistoryOfSupremeCourt.org
Justia.com: US Supreme Court Center
Wikipedia: List of United States Supreme Court cases and History of the Supreme Court
OpenJurist.org: U.S. Supreme Court Cases Search

U.S. Supreme Court Recent News Stories

Google News: Supreme Court
The New York Times: Supreme Court Inc. (March 16, 2008)
ABC News: Supreme Court Rules Against Lawyers (January 15, 2008)
LiveVideo: Supreme Court takes up Indiana photo ID law
ABC News: U.S. Court Rejects Appeal Seeking Unapproved Drugs (January 14, 2008)
The New York Times: Justices Hear Arguments in Lethal Injection Case (January 7, 2008)
The Wall Street Journal: ...Death-Penalty Case Involving Rape of Young Girl (January 4, 2008)
The New York Times: Justices Widen Sentencing Powers of Federal Justices (Dec. 10, 2007)
The New York Times: Justices to Hear Gun Control Case (Nov. 20, 2007)
Associated Press: Supreme Court Halts Fla. Execution (November 15, 2007)
The New York Times: Justices Stay Execution, a Signal to Lower Courts (Oct. 31, 2007)
The New York Times: Eyes on Supreme Court in Execution Case Tuesday (Oct. 30, 2007)
CNNMoney: Exxon Says No Punitive Damages Warranted Valdez case (October 29, 2007)
The New York Times: Justices Decline to Hear Murder Appeal (Oct. 15, 2007)
USAToday.com: Death row dispute puts Bush, Texas at odds (Oct. 12, 2007)
Bloomberg.com: Supreme Court Deadlocks on Special Education Case (Oct. 10, 2007)
New York Times: Plantiffs Face Skeptical Court in Key Fraud Case (Oct. 9, 2007)
MSNBC: Challenge to racial disparity in prison sentences (October 2, 2007)
ABC News: Supreme Court to Hear Voter ID Case(September 25, 2007)
WashingtonPost.com: Supreme Court to Consider Lethal Injection (September 25, 2007)
CSMonitor.com: Supreme Court tilt to right had its limits
The New York Times: "Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Detainees" (2007)
Slate Magazine: A Supreme Court Conversation (2007)
The New York Times: "Use of Race in School Placement Curbed" (2007)
Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Eases Barriers On Minimum Price Agreements (2007)
Forbes.com: Groups Ponder Court's Ad Decision (2007)
The New York Times: "Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Mexican Death Row Inmate"
ABC News: Supreme Court News, Profiles and Analysis
Yahoo! News: Supreme Court
JURIST: Legal News Archive
Cornell Law School: Most Recent Supreme Court Decisions

U.S. Supreme Court Photos

U.S. Supreme Court Opinion, Blogs and Message Boards

The New York Times: Editorial: Supreme Disgrace (Oct. 11, 2007)
The New York Times: Going to Court, but Not in Time to Live (Oct. 8, 2007)
SCOTUSblog
Think Progress: Supreme Court tags
U.S. Supreme Court Blog
The Carpetbagger Report: "The move is highly unusual"
Wizbang: Supreme Court category
Obsidian Wings: Supreme Court Will Hear Guantanamo Case
The Volokh Conspiracy: Supreme Court Agrees to Take Guantanamo Bay Cases
Daily Kos: Supreme Court tag
MyDD: Supreme Court tag
LewRockwell.com: Inching Toward Commercial Freedom
Google Blog Search: Supreme Court

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