The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., is the highest and only federal Court named in the Constitution. To know how it stands as the pillar of the nation’s legal system and what the Supreme Court does? Keep reading.
The Constitution of the United States delineates, “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court.” The Constitution is a fundamental document that designs the structure of government and the rights of people, and the Supreme Court is a pivotal element of it.
The Supreme Court works on “equal justice under the law,” which delineates the ultimate responsibility of the institution is the prevalence of Justice and the rule of law for people without any discrimination.
If we see what the Supreme Court does in simple terms, the primary function will be interpreting and applying the Constitution and safeguarding the nation’s rules. In this article, we will figure out the powers, procedures, and fundamental role of the Supreme Court.
Structure of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal to deal with all the cases and controversies under the Constitution or given laws of the United States. A final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system can review and even overturn lower courts’ decisions.
Being the first and the final Court to hear a case, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to involve certain circumstances, including public officials, ambassadors, and intra-state disputes.
Profoundly, the U.S. Supreme Court is the final Court of appeal and the final platform to implement the Constitution nationwide. It employs the framework of litigation and marks the boundaries of authority between state and nation, interstate and citizens and government.
Composition of the Court
The Constitution tells us a little about the organization of the Court but has no specifications for holding seats on the Court or the number of justices. The Supreme Court comprises nine justices, which the President appoints.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 set the size of the court to six, including one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. With time, the size of the Court grew to ten Justices which decreased to nine under the Judiciary Act of 1869, and the number is consistent till day.
The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the law while ensuring the American people’s law and order and functioning as an interpreter of the Constitution. It consists of Chief Justice and Associate Justices, but Congress usually fixes this number.
The power of the Justices is vested in the President of the United States; however, the appointments happen with the advice and consent of the Senate.
One important thing we must mention here is that Supreme Court appointments are lifetime tenures that may help justices to stay prone to political pressure. All this practice will help judges make fair decisions free of re–election or re-appointment.
Jurisdiction of the Court
The Supreme Court was formed under the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as head of the federal court system and was formally established until Congress passed the Judiciary Act in 1789.
The Constitution has detailed the legislative and executive branches’ powers, functions, and structure. Still, it is different as more detail for the judicial branch is needed, but they put most of the responsibility on Congress.
Typically, they vested judicial power in one Supreme Court, the Court for last resort, an appellate body with all of the authority which works under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States.
Additionally, it works to sort out controversies in which the United States is the party, disputes between states or citizens of different states, or even deals with admiralty and maritime jurisdictions.
Possessing original and appellate jurisdictions both, the Supreme Court exercises original jurisdictions in cases affecting states, diplomats, ambassadors, and public ministers and serves as a trial court.
The primary role could be appellate jurisdictions where the Supreme Court reviews cases from lower federal and state courts. The Court will consistently interpret federal laws across the United States through this system.
A few cases reach the Court through their original jurisdictions. In comparison, many possibilities for the business of the Supreme Court and all of the influential decisions come under its appellate jurisdictions.
Membership and organization
According to the Constitution, the President appoints the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts; however, they do it with the advice and consent of the Senate. Presidents rarely consult the Senate before making a nomination.
The Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings on nominations to the Supreme Court, whereas it requires a majority of the full Senate for confirmation.
Suppose the position of Chief Justice is vacant. In that case, the President can appoint them from outside of the Court, or they can even elevate an existing associate justice to this post. In each case of selecting the Chief Justice, most of the Senate must approve them for the position.
It is a crucial appointment as a member of the Supreme Court for a life term, and only impeachment by the House of Representatives or a conviction in the Senate may make them expel.
Only one Justice, Samuel Chase, was impeached and acquitted in 1805. Abe Fortas also resigned in 1969 under the threat of impeachment as he was alleged of financial mishandling, which was a dishonesty to his duties on the Court.
The federal judicial system comprises trial courts of original jurisdiction and the Supreme Court. As there is an expansion in the country, we can witness a massive volume of cases reviewed without intermediate appellate courts.
The fidelity pattern to the Supreme Court varied significantly among the lower courts. To deal with the increased threshold, Congress passed the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act (1891) and established nine intermediate courts with final authority over appeals from federal district courts; however, they will not deal with cases of exceptional public importance.
The Supreme Court sponsored the Judiciary Act of 1925 (Judge’s Bill) and developed reforms significantly limiting obligatory jurisdictions while expanding the classes of cases. Further changes happened when Congress passed legislation which made the Supreme Court hear appeals related to legislative changes and federal civil rights and antitrust laws.
There are twelve geographic judicial circuits, and a court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington, D.C. Around 98 percent of federal cases end in the decisions of the lower federal appellate courts.
Powers and functions of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court derives its authority from Article III of the Constitution, which grants jurisdiction over the United States and inferior courts established by Congress.
The Court Term begins by law on the first Monday in October, and decisions of argued cases are announced by the end of the June of every typical year. Over a single term, about 7,000 to 8,000 filed petitions with the Court; among them, only 100 chose for full briefing and oral argument.
Additionally, if we talk about the petitions, there could be approximately 1,200 applications for any intermediate stay filed each year. Only a single justice can act upon these applications.
Judicial review
The fundamental function of the Supreme Court is the concept of judicial review, and this power allows the Court even to review laws and government actions to determine whether they are constitutional.
Defining judicial review was established in the landmark case Marbury vs. Madison in 1803, as Chief Justice John Marshall declared it a court’s duty to interpret the Constitution and manage the laws if there is any conflict.
Interpretation of Constitution
The method of Constitutional interpretation varies between two philosophies: originalism and living constitutionalism.
Originalism focuses on interpreting the Constitution according to the original soul of it while valuing the framer’s intent.
Living constitutionalism helps to understand the document’s ability to adapt to society’s evolving social norms and values.
Moreover, the Supreme Court has to perform the duty to ensure and maintain a balance between these two philosophies. The Court must manage to preserve constitutional principles in the relevance of modern perspectives.
Settling legal disputes
The Supreme Court deals with many cases with specific implications, which may involve constitutional questions, federal laws interpretation, and interstate conflicts. However, these legal cases are important enough to shape the legal platform for generations.
Role of precedent
The doctrine “to stand by things decided” lays the foundation of the Court’s dependability on precedent decisions. As precedent decides, it refers to past choices, which may help determine recent and future cases.
Court has the power to overturn past decisions, but that too needs all the effort, as it needs all of the steps to recognize the stability and consistency that precedent brought to the legal system.
Deciding cases
Before making any decision, the Court hears oral arguments for the case from both sides. Justices may ask detailed questions and other details to understand the implication of the legal issues. All these argument sessions will help the judges to get a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental complications of the dispute.
Issuing opinions
After all the arguments session, judges would be mentally clear enough to cast their votes. In contrast, the most senior Justice in the jury assigns the task of writing the opinion. Opinions must depict the consent of the majority, solid enough, and not following orthodox situations.
The majority opinion outlines the Court’s decision and reasoning, valid to express agreements with the outcome and different reasons concurring arrangements and views for various reasons. In comparison, some confronting opinions by Justices in the minority will represent the alternative viewpoint.
Influencing future cases
The Court’s beliefs significantly affect further legal developments and future cases. Statements regarding legal matters will guide lower courts, setting a precedent in similar legal situations.
In evolving society, judges’ opinions matter a lot as they help to interpret the Constitution in light of particular modern challenges.
Procedure and power
The Supreme Court has the exclusive discretion to deal with the caseload while hearing 100 cases per term. The term begins on the first Monday in October and ends in late June; meanwhile, the Court receives 7,000 certiorari requests.
The number of certiorari has increased fivefold since World War two due to growth in population, enhancing legal and litigious culture, and a significant surge in the demands of the citizens towards the government.
After a significant rise in the number of certiorari requests, there has been a decline in the number of decided cases since the 1950s and 60. After that, civil rights cases overcame, and the Justices chose to hear a few cases regarding salient issues.
The Chief Justice leads the Court, and all certiorari requests circulate among the justices and develop a “discuss list” of potential cases. The associate judges may require the Chief Justice to add other instances to the “discuss list.”
There was a “Rule of Four” developed in the 19th century in which the decision granting certiorari requires the consent of at least four judges.
Once the decision has been made to hear a case, the Supreme Court will receive the lower Court’s records and briefs, and the case will be scheduled for oral arguments. Third parties can also submit their opinions during this process by filing a “friend of the court (amicus curiae)” brief.
With rare exceptions, the petitioners and respondents are allotted thirty minutes to represent their point of view in the form of arguments to the Court. However, judges hear no witnesses or evidence. Each side regarding the case tries to persuade the Justices with the help of Constitutional interpretations to support their point of view.
Decision-making process
Finally, the decision-making process involves two significant judgments: At first, a vote they keep secret, and the justices decide the case’s merits, then they issue the official written decision of the Court.
The first judgment will determine who will write the official decision; traditionally, the Chief Justice will decide who will be the author of the Court’s verdict. However, the Chief Justice should be in the majority to determine it. If he is in the minority, the longest-serving majority member will write the decision.
Previously from 1801 to 1835, the common practice for the Court was to issue formal opinions to justify the decision. There is no such requirement in the Constitution to give any legal statement, but it was still a common practice.
Drafts of all opinions circulate among the justices, and they all have the right to agree with it or not, fully or partially. At the same time, the final decision will depict the supreme law of the land while expecting to control constitutional doctrine by lower courts.
Judicial review
The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review. Still, it can only exercise it when it is about the declared acts of Congress or if there are any unconstitutional state legislatures. The Court may also review any Executive, administrative, and judicial actions.
There were a few profound details of judicial review in the Constitution then Justice Marshall articulated in above mentioned Marbury v. Madison case in 1803. Later in the 19th century, most legal scholars accepted judicial reviews as a valid power of the Supreme Court.
Does the Supreme Court interpret the law?
“Equal justice under law” is the word on the main entrance of the Supreme Court building, depicting the ultimate responsibility of the United States Supreme Court. The highest tribunal for all the national cases and controversies arising under the Constitution and the country’s laws.
We know now that the United States Supreme Court, the highest Court in the land, is the only federal judiciary required by the Constitution. Although the Constitution does not stipulate the number of justices, Congress deals with it.
The Court’s docket is exclusively appellate and serves as the ultimate judicial arbiter on matters of federal law within the United States. Decisions made by the Court can not be further appealed to any higher authority.
At the same time, the Court may consider appeals from the highest states of the court or federal appellate courts. The Court has original jurisdiction over limited cases involving exceptions such as state issues, diplomats, or ambassadors.
Although the Supreme Court can also hear appeals on any question of law under its jurisdictions but does not hold trials. The Court’s task is to interpret the meaning of law and derive its relevance to the particular set of facts and rules on applied law.
When rendering decisions, lower courts are obligated to follow the precedent of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court does not hear appeals as a matter of right; parties need to petition the Court for a writ of certiorari.
If four of the nine justices decide to grant cert, they may hear the case. Approximately 7,500 requests for certiorari are filed each year, among which the Court certifies less than 150.
Selected issues are typically vital enough to require a review, for instance, when two or more federal courts of appeals have ruled differently on the same question of federal law.
If the Court grants certiorari, Justices accept the legal briefs from the concerned parties and third parties. The third parties are friends of the Court, who could be academics, industry trade groups, and the United States government itself.
Before issuing a ruling, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments; during the process, various parties present their points to the suit and answerable to questions by Justice.
Suppose any case involves the federal government, the Solicitor General of the United States. The justices hold a private conference, make decisions at some uncertain time, and issue the Court’s opinion with written dissenting arguments.
Granting certiorari
The Supreme Court receives around 10,000 petitions annually but decides the case depending on the “Rule of Four.” We have already discussed that if four of the nine justices feel the case is valuable, they will issue a writ of certiorari.
Certiorari is the legal order from the High Court to the Lower Court, which will bind them to send records for the case review. The Supreme Court hears only 75 to 85 cases yearly, whereas most petitions are denied.
The Supreme Court hears the majority of the cases on appeal from lower claims, which usually are federal courts of appeal or state Supreme Courts.
What exactly does the Court justice do?
The Supreme Court Justices create a precedent that every Court in the country has to follow as it guarantees the equal application of laws to all people. The Supreme Court takes the cases from state courts or if the appeal involves the U.S. Constitution.
Individuals can appeal for their rights under the Bill of Rights but are denied by the state, or they feel some error was made by a court. There are certain restrictions as most cases come from the lower federal courts, not the state ones.
Nomination and confirmation
The President nominates all the Justices of the Supreme Court, even including the Chief Justice, and the Senate confirms them. Justice holds their offices for life tenure and does not undergo re-election, so they are immune to political pressure to make solid decisions.
Justices will remain in office until they resign, are deceased, are impeached, or undergo any conviction by Congress.
The selection of a Supreme Court Justice involves rigorous recruitment and critical analysis of the nominee’s qualifications, legal philosophy, and capability to impact the Court’s balance.
Decision-making
After the confirmation, the Justice may participate in the deliberations and make insightful and engaging conversations with fellow justices. They need precise analytical powers to carefully overview legal principles, past precedents, and the potential impact of various outcomes before making any decision.
Justice must have thoughtful ideas and profound knowledge of legal arguments with broader societal implications and impact.
Writing opinions
The most imperative responsibility of the justices is writing opinions, so they focus on crafting a well-versed statement. A reasonable opinion may involve synthesized legal arguments, precedent, and constitutional principles in some state-forward manner and should be persuasive.
Justices should be able to communicate their reasoning effectively regarding opinions that would be impactful for legal experts and the general public.
Long-term impact
Justices’ opinions may last as an influential legacy, which may shape legal doctrine, influence public policy and enhance the development of American jurisprudence. Many Justices have made some significant contributions to the law, and the opinion is a guideline for the next generations.
Shaping legal doctrine in the society
The Justices of the Supreme Court usually take cases that may affect the entire country, not specific to individuals only. They address the legal issues essential to most people, have a sizable constitutional impact, or answer critical legal questions affecting the nation.
Some landmark cases set important precedents which transformed society by advancing civil rights and equality.
Balancing some individual rights and government
The Supreme Court is crucial in balancing individual rights and government power. The decisions by the Supreme Court ensure that government actions align with constitutional principles, ensuring safety towards citizens’ liberties even under political pressures.
Public policy and social change
The Court’s decision may influence legal terms, public policy, and social change. It may involve the legal realm in a vast capacity, as recognition of any woman’s right to choose what is best for them, whether debates, activism, and legislation on reproductive rights.
What exactly does the Supreme Court do?
The Supreme Court stems from a unique position as it holds a deep commitment of the American people to the rule of law and constitutional government. It owes determination to protect and preserve the written Constitution, ensuring Americans experience democracy with this carefully balanced document form of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court, along with the Constitution, ensures an adequate, strong, and flexible national government to meet the needs of a republic while balancing society’s needs for law and any individual’s right to freedom.
The Supreme Court’s role within the system involves wielding authority to invalidate legislation and executive actions it deems conflicting or in violation. This authority stems from the power of judicial review, a vital responsibility that safeguards human rights while upholding the integrity of the Constitution.
Interplay with other government branches
The Supreme Court works within the framework of other branches of the government under a proper check and balance system, ensuring that a single component of government is always powerful.
Hence, the Court acts to check on both the legislative and executive branches while reviewing the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress. The system prevents any component from being unchecked and implements democratic principles to build a mighty nation.
Conflicts and resolutions
Usually, conflicts arise between the Court and other branches of government. If the Court invalidates a law or executive action, it may raise the discussion about the boundaries of power and proper interpretation of the Constitution.
Conflicts are crucial for maintaining a healthy balance while encouraging a dynamic conversation about the limits of a government authority.
Conclusion
We are seeking an answer to what the Supreme Court does? The United States Supreme Court has a multitasking role to safeguard the Constitution, interpret laws, protect individual rights, and ensure the nation’s legal system and democracy.
What does the Supreme Court Justice do? Despite some limitations in implementing decisions, the judges may set policies that may lead to a drastic social change. Although the justices only do a little work in public and ordinary people need to learn what they do; still, their decisions are crucial. The Supreme Court holds absolute power in the American political system.
The Supreme Court’s Justices are responsible for upholding the Constitution and navigating some intricate regulations regarding legal principles, precedents, and societal expectations.
As the highest Court in the land, the power and functions of the Supreme Court could form landmark cases that shape social norms and influence public policy and is the powerful force that shapes the trajectory of the United States and guides a path toward an equitable society and preserving the core values of it.
In a nutshell, the Supreme Court serves as an explicit protector of individual rights, guarding the Constitution by checking the executive branch’s actions, and dealing with the intricate process of judicial review, playing a role in the passing of laws by the legislative.
