1. I. Composition II. Jurisdiction III. Process IV. A few landmark cases

2.  I. Composition -9 justices : the Chief Justice (J. Roberts) + 8 associate justices (S. Sotomayor, S.G. Breyer, S.A. Alito, E. Kagan, C. Thomas, A. Scalia, A. Kennedy, R.B. Ginsburg)

3.  The Roberts Court, Oct. 2010

4.  FDR’s “Court-packing” scheme  Law clerks  Edwin Meese, Reagan’s Attorney General : “institutionalizing the Reagan revolution so it can’t be set aside no matter what happens in future presidential elections.”

5.  II. Jurisdiction -original jurisdiction -appellate jurisdiction -writ of appeal -writ of certiorari (“to make perfectly sure”)

6.  III. Process -on average: 5,000 cases a year, rules on about 200 -“oral arguments” -“counsels” -majority opinion -dissenting opinion -concurring opinion -“strict constructionists” VS “judicial activists”

7.  Alexis de Tocqueville: “Every political question in the US is ultimately a judicial one.”  Solicitor General

8.  IV. A few landmark cases -Justice Powell 1979 “If the Congress chooses not to confront the president, it is not our task to do so.” - Marbury v. Madison (1803) - Fletcher v. Peck (1810), Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816) - McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): implied powers - Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

9.  - Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): “separate but equal”  - Korematsu v. United States (1944)  - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)  - Miranda v. Arizona (1966): “Miranda rights”  - Roe v. Wade (1973)  - Bush v. Gore (2000)  - Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

10.  - National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012): “Obamacare”