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What is the Supreme Court’s main job? Decide whether laws are allowed by the U.S. Constitution

Jurisdiction The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in two types of cases One type is cases that involved disputes between two or more states The other is cases that involve diplomats from foreign countries In all other instances, the Supreme Court only hears cases that have been appealed from the lower courts

Supreme Court Has final authority in cases involving the Constitution, acts or Congress, and treaties with other nations Court’s decisions are binding on all lower courts Only hears a small percentage of the cases it receives Court chooses which cases it will hear and if they refuse a case the decision of the lower court remains

Duties of Justices The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices Chief justice and 8 associate justices The chief justice is the Court’s leader Congress sets this number and has the power to change it They hear and rule on cases

Qualifications of Justices Constitution does not name any qualifications for a Supreme Court justice Before being named to the Court many have practiced or taught law or held other public offices Because the justices interpret what the Constitution means, they have great power The men and women who sit on the Court have their jobs for life Presidents have to choose a nominee and Senate has to approve them

In recent years members of Congress and media have looked into a nominee’s personal life and professional qualifications   Article III of the Constitution creates the judicial branch It does not describe the branch in detail Over the years congress has established most of the rules that govern the powers and organization of the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Powers Most important power of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial review Judicial review: the power of the Supreme Court to say whether any federal, state, or local law or government action goes against eh Constitution What happens if the court decides a law is unconstitutional? they can nullify or legally cancel the law or action What happens if a law is constitutional? The law remains in place Judicial review is an important check on the legislative and executive branches of government

Supreme Court Limits Checks and balances in the Constitution put limits on the power of federal courts (including the Supreme Court) The Court can only hear and make rulings on the cases that come to it The Court will not rule on a law or action that has not been challenged on appeal All cases taken by the Court must be actual legal disputes

Supreme court limits The Court can only take cases that involved a federal question Traditionally the Court has refused to deal with political matters The Court has no resources to make governments do what it orders, they must depend on the executive branch and state and local officials to follow the rules it establishes

Marbury v Madison The Constitution does not give the Supreme Court the power of judicial review The Judiciary Act of 1780 provided the courts with this power

Marbury v Madison Justice Marshall’s opinion in the case of Marbury v Madison set forth three main principles of judicial review: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land If there is a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution rules The judicial branch has a duty to uphold the Constitution.

What is an example where the executive branch did not enforce the Court decision? President Jackson refused to obey the decision made by the Court in Worcester v. Georgia. Jackson refused to take any steps to make the state obey the Court’s ruling   What can Congress do if they disagree with a Court ruling? It can pass new laws or change a law that the Court has found to be unconstitutional They can also try to undo Court rulings by changing the Constitution with an amendment

Chart from beginning of class Jurisdiction Original jurisdiction with disputes between states Original jurisdiction in cases that involve foreign diplomats Appellate jurisdiction n all other cases Duties Hears and rules on cases Powers Judicial review Decides if law or acts of the government are allowed by the Constitution Can determine if things are unconstitutional Limits Generally does not take on political matters Relies on other branches to enforce decisions Congress and states can get around court decisions with new laws or amendments