chapter 5 US supreme court

structure of the federal courts

the US supreme court sits at the top of the federal judiciary
according the original constitution, the supreme court was to be the only federal court
article III, section 1- 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

Judiciary Act 1789- congress set up a system of lower federal courts
below the supreme court are 13 courts of appeals (circuit courts)
below these are the 94 trial courts (district courts)
the vast majority of federal cases begin in the district courts
once the case has been decided there, it may be appealed to one of the Circuit Courts
from there it may be appealed to the united states supreme court
cases may also arrive at the US supreme court from the state supreme courts, if questions involving the federal government are raised
the US supreme court hears only those cases that it wishes to hear
there is no automatic right to have one's case heard before the US supreme court
it hears only those cases that it believes are of major constitutional significance

membership of the supreme court

today there are 9 members of the supreme court
one chief justice, 8 associate justices
the number is fixed by congress and has remained unchanged since 1869
they are appointed by the president and must be confirmed by a simple majority vote in the senate
they hold office for life
members of the court can only be removed through the impeachment process
the house must impeach a justice by a simple majority and the senate must then try that justice
if found guilty by the senate by a 2/3 majority, the justice is removed from office
no supreme court justice has ever been impeached
1968- Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigned from the supreme court rather than face impeachment
justices leave the court only as a consequence of voluntary retirement or death

when the court is in session, the justices sit along the bench at the front of the chamber in high back chairs with a backdrop of a plush red curtain
sitting in the middle is the chief justice
their powers are in most respects the same as their colleagues
the chief justice has the opportunity to set the tone of the court

the current chief justice John Roberts is the 16th person to hold the office in 230 years
others- Earl Warren, Warren Earl Burger, William Rehnquist

membership of the supreme court, January 2017

philosophy of the justices

it is often suggested that presidents wish to appoint justices who share their judicial philosophy
from a philosophical perspective, justices can be classified as…

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