The United States Supreme Court

 Function: ◦ Ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws ◦ Resolves conflicts among states ◦ Maintains national supremacy of law ◦ Set legal precedents for lower courts  9 justices- 1 chief justice and 8 associate justices.  Supreme court decides which cases it will hear- controls its own agenda ◦ Original jurisdiction-rare ◦ Appellate jurisdiction- ◦ Judicial Review

Judicial restraint: judges should play a minimal policymaking role Judicial activism: judges should make bold policy decisions and even chart new constitutional ground Doctrine of Original Intent: Judges should determine the intend of the framers of the Constitution and decided cases in line with that Judicial Implementation: How and whether court decision are translated into actual policy.

 Accepting Cases(Appellate Jurisdiction) 1.Losing party appeals to the Supreme Court 2.Judges meet in conference 1.Use the “rule of four” to choose cases 2.Solicitor General 3.Issues a writ of certiorari to call up the case 1.Date is set to present oral arguments

 a presidential appointee and third-ranking office in the Department of Justice  is in charge of appellate court litigation of the federal government  By avoiding frivolous appeals and displaying a high degree of competence, the solicitor general have a the confidence of the Supreme Court.

1.Court receives written briefs of the case 1.Court receives amicus curiae briefs 2.Oral arguments & questioning heard by the justices 3.Judicial Conference 1.Once a tentative decision has been made the opinion can be written.

◦ Majority Opinion is written by the chief justice or the senior member of the majority. ◦ Plurality opinions are…… ◦ Concurring opinions are written in support of the majority but stress a different legal basis ◦ Dissenting opinions are written by justices who oppose the majority. ◦ Stare decisis : let previous decision stand unchanged