Supreme Court Expert

15 Automatic A+ 14 1 Exam Pass 13 1 Roundhouse Kick to Mr. Morrissey 12 1 Fist Pound 11 1 Low-Five 10 1 High-Five 9 2 Thumbs Up 8 1 “Super!” 7 1 “You’re Awesome!” 6 1 “You’re So Smart!” 5 1 “Good Job!” 4 4 Pats on the Back 3 3 Pats on the Back 2 2 Pats on the Back 1 1 Pat on the Back

The Supreme Court is part of what branch of government? A. Executive B. Legislative C. Judicial D. Justicial

How many Supreme Court justices are there? B. 9 C. 11 D. 5

9 Justices! Doesn’t have to be. 1807  7 Justices 1837  9 Justices Constitution doesn’t specify. Federal Judiciary Act only called for ONE chief justice and FIVE associate justices. 1807  7 Justices 1837  9 Justices 1863  10 Justices 1869  9 Justices

In order for an official decision to be reached, ___ of 9 justices must agree on a verdict.

5 Justices! But why? Simple majority (>50%) must be reached Justices can agree on winner of case, but can differ as to the reasons WHY they should win. Majority, Concurring, and Dissenting Opinions

How long of a term do Supreme Court justices serve? A. 2 years B. 4 years C. 6 years D. Life term

Life Term! Once one becomes a Supreme Court Justice, he/she serves until they retire.

Why do Supreme Court justices serve life terms? A. To isolate them from public opinion B. So they can conduct business without the threat of losing their jobs C. To isolate them from politics D. All of the above

All of the Above! Rationale for granting SCOTUS Justices life terms is… To isolate them from public opinion To isolate them from politics To allow them to conduct business without threat of losing their jobs

______ has the authority to nominate judges to the Supreme Court ______ has the authority to nominate judges to the Supreme Court. ______ has the authority to confirm or deny those nominations. A. The President; The Senate B. The House; The Senate C. Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus D. Congress; The President

President appoints; Senate confirms! Current president makes decision of who fills vacant position. Senate rejects or confirms that appointee. Simple majority vote (>50%)

The Supreme Court is the highest __________ court in the United States. A. Court of Appeals B. Appellate Court C. Appeals Court D. Basketball Court

Trick Question! Court of Appeals, Appeals Court, and Appellate Court are all the same thing! ...basketball court is not.

Precedent is a previous court decision that must be followed in subsequent similar cases. Who has the ability to overturn precedent established by the Supreme Court? A. The Supreme Court B. Congress C. The President D. The United Nations

The Supreme Court! Only the Supreme Court can overturn precedent established by an earlier Supreme Court. Ex: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) “separate but equal” doctrine overturned 58 years later by Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Each year, more than 8,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court Each year, more than 8,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court. Of these, the justices only hear oral arguments and issue written opinions in about _______ cases. A. 10 B. 80 C. 800 D. 1,000

80! SCOTUS only hears <1% of all cases petitioned to it. Don’t have time to review EVERY case in detail. Only accept cases that they believe deal with critical national issues.

In addition to interpreting the constitution and laws of the United States, another primary goal of the Supreme Court is to… A. Resolve conflicts of lower courts B. Create laws C. Enforce laws D. Arouse public debate

Resolve Conflict of Lower Courts! After all, it IS an appellate court… While SCOTUS certainly arouses public debate and, at times, “creates law,” neither one of these are a primary goal of the institution.

Who is currently the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? A. Anthony Kennedy B. Ruth Bader Ginsburg C. Judge Judy D. John Roberts

This guy  Chief Justice John Roberts Serving since ’03 Chief Justice since ‘05

Which United States president attempted to advantageously change the amount of justices in the Supreme Court, from 9 to 15 justices? A. Abraham Lincoln B. Franklin D. Roosevelt C. Thomas Jefferson D. Richard Nixon

Franklin D. Roosevelt! His New Deal reforms kept getting struck down by current SCOTUS His solution: “Put more of MY GUYS on the Court!”

Which U.S. Supreme Court case granted the Supreme Court power of judicial review? A. Marbury v. Madison B. Texas v. Johnson C. Tinker v. Des Moines D. Gideon v. Wainwright

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

A loser of a lower level appellate court decision files a petition for _______, or a formal appeal to the SCOTUS to hear their case. A. Certiorari B. Habeas Corpus C. Amicus curiae D. Stare Decisis

Certiorari! Parties not satisfied w/ a lower court decision must petition the SCOTUS to hear their case Petition asks Court to grant writ of certiorari Orders a lower court to deliver its decision so that a higher court may review it

After reviewing a petition for certiorari, how many Supreme Court justices must agree to hear a case in order for it be presented before the Court? A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 9

4! “The Rule of 4”

Instructions & answer slides follow End of Game Instructions & answer slides follow

Setting up Game Use the Edit menu and Replace… to insert questions and answers. In the Find box, type in “Question X” (where X is the question number, 1 through 15). In the Replace box, type in the question. Then, enter “Answer X-1” and the first answer, “Answer X-2” and the second answer, etc. (Capitalize as indicated.) To set up the 50-50 Lifeline slides (Slides 37-51): 1. Select the first answer to be eliminated by clicking on the text of the answer. Select the text and delete it. (This should leave a blank hexagon.) 2.Repeat with the second eliminated answer, and then repeat with each further slide. To set up the Answer slides (Slides 21-35): 1. Select the hexagon behind the correct answer by right-clicking on the hexagon. (Click above or below the answer text to avoid selecting the text instead. Once selected, the hexagon should have a rectangular border around it.) Select Format Autoshape; choose the Colors and Lines tab, choose the Fill color and change its color to light green. (The green should be provided in the bottom row of colors.) 2. Repeat with each further slide. Slides 52-66 are the Money Won slides. On the title screen, the finger icon will link to a Fastest Finger slide, if you would like to use it. To set up the Fastest Finger slide (Slide 70), fill in the Fastest Finger question, and the four answers. On the answer slide (Slide 71), replace each orange question mark with the letter of the appropriate answer in order, starting at the top. Fill in the answer corresponding to each letter accordingly. Clicking on the ? icon on Slide 70 will go to the answer slide; clicking on the house icon will link to the main game board. USAGE NOTE: the Fastest Finger question slide includes the music for Fastest Finger; this music is 25 seconds long. Use the music as a timer; when the music ends, go to the answer slide.

Setting up Game The Phone-a-Friend lifeline can be used to ask one other student to help out. Clicking on the Phone-a-Friend lifeline icon will link to a 30-second timer slide. The timer will begin on a mouse-click, and will count down to zero. Once the slide reaches zero, clicking on the curved arrow icon will return to the previous slide (the question slide). USAGE NOTE: the question and answers are not visible during the clock countdown, and returning to the question slide before the clock finishes will reset the clock. The Ask-the-Audience lifeline can be used to ask the entire class, who gives their votes for the correct answer by letter. Clicking on the Ask-the-Audience lifeline icon will link to a chart slide. Clicking on the chart will open Microsoft Excel; click on the “Enter Scores Here” tab to enter the class votes for each answer, then click on the “Chart” tab so the chart will be visible. Go to the File menu and choose Close and Return… to return to the slide show. Clicking on the curved arrow icon will return to the previous slide (the question slide). ICONS: ? Takes you to the answer slide Star Takes you from the answer slide to the Money Won slide House Takes you back to the Cash Board If using the game for another person or another class, close the game and re-open it (this is to reset the links on the game board back to orange).