The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over every federal and state court in the United States. Although it usually reviews cases tried in the lower courts, the Supreme Court also has limited original jurisdiction and may decide to hear certain federal cases. Either way, the cases selected by the Court typically focus on important constitutional questions.

Once selected, a case is presented to the Chief Justice and the eight Associate Justices through a series of briefs and oral arguments. The Court meets to discuss the case before voting and releasing the majority opinion. The Supreme Court's decision may only be overturned by a constitutional amendment or a future Supreme Court decision. Because Supreme Court cases focus on important constitutional issues, the Court's decisions greatly impact public policy. The Court can define the law and set the limits of government power. This was not true in the early years of the Court, however, as the judicial branch was originally considered the weakest of the three. With the landmark decision in Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall cleverly secured the power of judicial review, making the Supreme Court a coequal branch of American government.