Section One of Article III of the United States Constitution states that the federal legal system shall be composed of a Supreme Court and as many inferior courts as Congress may establish. The Supreme Court, therefore, is the highest court in the federal judiciary. The Supreme Court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices, each of whom is nominated by the President of the United States. Section Two of Article II of the Constitution states that the president exercise his power to nominate a Supreme Court Justice only with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee votes to forward a nominee on to the full Senate with a positive, negative, or neutral recommendation. Nominees have appeared in person before the Judiciary Committee for questioning since the 1950s. The full Senate then votes to confirm or reject the nominee by majority vote. Some nominees do not receive a vote by the full Senate: a filibuster may prevent a final vote. Appointments to the Supreme Court are lifetime appointments and may be terminated by the death of the justice or her resignation, impeachment, or retirement. The Chief Justice is the most senior member of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court hears three types of cases. In the few types of cases in which the Court has original jurisdiction, the Supreme Court functions as a trial court. The Court has original jurisdiction over cases in which a state is a party and cases involving ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls. The Court has appellate jurisdiction over other cases. Some of these cases originate in state courts in which the case involves a federal question and in which the litigant has no further legal recourse within that state. The most numerous of the Court’s cases originate in federal district or appellate courts. Litigants in these cases petition the Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision by filing a “Petition for Writ of Certiorari”. If four Justices consent to hear the case, the Court issues a Writ of Certiorari, which requests the legal proceedings be forwarded from the lower court for its review. The Supreme Court receives more than 4,500 petitions annually, and decides fewer than 200 each year. The Court does not give legal advice or opinions outside of cases that appear before it.

Created by the Constitution, the Court took shape under the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal judiciary’s system of district and circuit courts. The Act also specified the number of Supreme Court Justices, which increased from six to nine as the number of judicial circuit courts expanded to meet the needs of a growing nation. President George Washington appointed John Jay as the first Chief Justice. Under Chief Justice John Marshall, the Court declared itself the final arbiter and interpreter of the United States Constitution and declared the supremacy of the Constitution over any other law, state or federal, in Marbury v. Madison (1803). The Court also began its practice of issuing majority opinions under Marshall.

The demographics of the Court have shifted over time to include members of ethnic and religious minorities. Andrew Jackson appointed the first Roman Catholic Justice, Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice in 1836. With few exceptions since the late 1890s, there has been at least one Roman Catholic on the Supreme Court. Woodrow Wilson appointed Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice, to the Court in 1916. Lyndon Johnson appointed the first African American Justice, Thurgood Marshall, to the Court in 1967. Ronald Reagan appointed the first female Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, to the Court in 1981. Barack Obama appointed the first Justice of Latin American descent, Sonia Sotomayor, to the Court in 2009.

• Justice Biographies and Case Summaries: This site provides biographies of current and past Supreme Court Justices and oral arguments and case decisions.
• Supreme Court Decisions: Historic Supreme Court decisions, organized by topic.
• The Supreme Court of the United States: The official web site of the Supreme Court includes biographies of current justices, court documents, and information on the court and its procedures.
• About the Supreme Court: An introduction to the United States federal court system and the Supreme Court.
• Historic Supreme Court Cases: Case name, date, and brief overview with links to the full decision of important historical Supreme Court cases.
• Thurgood Marshall: A biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Includes timeline.
• Louis Brandeis: A biography of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice.
• The U.S. Supreme Court: A history of the court, information on current and past justices, transcripts of court hearings, and information on Senate confirmation hearings.
• The Supreme Court and the Federal Judiciary: An overview of the Supreme Court, its functions and history, and information on justices past and present.
• The Judicial Branch: An overview of the judicial branch of government and the Supreme Court’s role.
• Supreme Court Interviews: Essays and video on the Supreme Court, including interviews with Justices John Roberts and Sandra Day O’Connor; includes timeline of important events and lesson plans.