Introduction to the U.S. Supreme Court

1.         What is the U. S. Supreme Court?

            A.        Jurisdiction is found in Article III of the constitution.

• 1 supreme court; other inferior courts established by Congress.

• Life tenure for federal judges (with good behavior).

• Power extends to all cases arising under the constitution and the laws of the United States.                       

• Original jurisdiction in limited cases; appellate jurisdiction in the vast majority of cases.

            B.        Relationship with other branches of the federal government.

• The “civics book” view of the Court is not accurate.

• The Court is not a stuffy institution

            C.        The Court is viewed as both a passive and an active branch of government.

  2.         How a case gets to the U.S. Supreme Court

            A.        The U.S. is a federal system.

• The founders’ suspicion of a strong central government led to the Articles of Confederation and federalism. 

• State courts handle the vast majority of cases.

• Federal courts try cases where the United States is a party

           B.        To be eligible for a hearing by the USSC, one must demonstrate standing.

In the vast majority of cases, the USSC rejects the request for a hearing (approx. 90% rejected).  In these situations the decision of the lower court stands.

            C.        To grant a hearing, the USSC issues a writ of certiorari. 

            D.        How does the USSC hear a case?

• Review the lower court record and the briefs of both parties (without hearing oral argument) and then issue a ruling.  Most cases are resolved in this way.

• Review the lower court record and the briefs of both parties, hear oral arguments, then issue a ruling.

                        Decisions of the USSC are final.  They may not be reviewed by any other court in the USA.

3.         Rulings and opinions rendered by the USSC

            A.        The Court's decision becomes its ruling in a given case; rulings are explained in opinions written by justices.

            B.        A ruling establishes a rule of law or a rule clarification and is used, as a result of the doctrine of stare decisis, as a basis for deciding future cases with similar facts.

            C.        An opinion establishes the reasons behind a ruling.  There are 5 types of opinions.

                        majority opinion:        5 or more justices vote the same way and agree on the reasons for the ruling. 

                       plurality opinion:        5 or more justices vote the same way—but for different reasons.

                        per curiam opinion:  An unsigned opinion written by all justices who voted in the majority.

                        concurring opinion:   Written by a justice who voted in the majority, agrees with the reasoning in the majority opinion, but wants to add an additional reason not shared by all justices in the majority.

                        dissenting opinion:    Any member voting in the minority may, if he/she wishes to do so, write a dissenting opinion.