“Clear and Present Danger” “Substantial Disruption” “Undue burden” “trimester verdict” “reasonable suspicion” “exclusionary rule” “executive privilege” Citizens United “Bong Hits for Jesus”

Ruth Ginsberg 1993 Chief Justice John Roberts 2005 Clarence Thomas 1991 Anthony Kennedy 1988 Antonin Scalia 1986 Samuel Alito 2005 Stephen Breyer 1994 Sonya Sotomayor 2009 Elena Kagan 2010

 9 Justices total. 8 Associate Justices 1 Chief Justice  Term: Life  Pay Justices each make $213,900. Chief makes $223, 500.  Appointed by President, approved by Senate

Judicial Review Jurisdiction Ways to the Court Proceeedings Decisions Cases

 In ruling the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional in 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall established judicial review.  The Supreme Court proclaimed the power to declare acts of Congress (and others) unconstitutional thus empowering the Judicial Branch.

 Original: heard first in a particular court Ex: government officials, two states  Appellate: heard on appeal from a lower court Ex: can uphold, overrule, or modify  Exclusive: heard only in federal courts Ex: ambassador, foreign official, federal crime  Concurrent: shared power between federal and state courts Ex: citizens from different states Authority to hear a case

 Order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case.  Latin for “to be made more certain”

 A lower court has asked the Supreme Court for a ruling or clarification on a case.  Rule of four applies. Four of the justices must agree to hear the case.

 High percentage of all cases reach the court from lower court appeals.  State, Constitutional, and Special courts all feed the Supreme Court.

 Rule of Four: Four of the nine justices must agree to hear a case.  Docket: The Supreme Court’s agenda. The court receives over 10,000 cases for review.

 Briefs Written statements from attorneys describing their arguments in the case. Amicus Curiae:  Means “friend of the court”  Briefs allowed for submission by outsiders. ie. Organizations/Special Interests  Oral Arguments 30 minutes for each side. Interrupted by questioning from the justices.

 Majority Opinion Decided by the chief justice, it is the official ruling of the court.  Dissenting Opinion Opinion of the justices that disagree with ruling  Concurring Opinion Justices that agree, but upon different grounds or reasons

Judicial Review Jurisdiction Original Appellate Exclusive Concurrent Write of certiorari Certificate Appeal Rule of four Docket Briefs Amicus Curiae Oral arguments Majority opinion Dissenting opinion Concurring opinion