Powers of the Judicial Branch The framers of the Constitution intended for the Constitution to be the “supreme law of the land.” That means no other laws or actions by the government can conflict with the Constitution. Protecting the Constitution is one of the most important responsibilities of the judicial branch. This branch is made up of the state and national court system.

True or False? Raise the roof for TRUE, wag the finger for FALSE. The Supreme Court is the highest court in our country—they make the final decision on any law or case. TRUE!

Powers of the Judicial Branch The Constitution provides a basic framework for the judicial branch—it establishes the country’s highest court (the Supreme Court). It also gives Congress the power to create lower courts to meet the needs of the states. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 justices (judges), who are appointed by the President, approved by Congress, and serve as a Supreme Court Justice for their entire life. Every year, the Supreme Court gets requests to review thousands of cases. They only accept about a hundred cases. After hearing both sides of the case, the Supreme Court makes their decision and puts it down in writing. Their decision guides the decisions made by judges in lower courts at the state level.

True or False? Raise the roof for TRUE, wag the finger for FALSE. The Congress appoints the 9 justices of the Supreme Court. FALSE! The President appoints the justices!

The Power of Judicial Review Judicial Review is the power to decide whether laws and actions of the legislative and executive branches are constitutional. The Constitution does not clearly give this power to the judicial branch—instead, this was decided by a landmark Supreme Court case known as Marbury vs. Madison.

The Power of Judicial Review This case was the first example where the Supreme Court decided that a law was unconstitutional. This case set a precedent (example) for the future—it forever gave the Supreme Court the power to decide whether existing laws are constitutional (obey the Constitution) or unconstitutional (go against the Constitution).

True or False? Raise the roof for TRUE, wag the finger for FALSE. The Congress appoints the 9 justices of the Supreme Court. FALSE! The President appoints the justices!