Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States of America. Because of this, the Court leads the Judicial Branch of the United States Federal Government. It is the only U.S. court established by the United States Constitution. Its decisions are supposed to be followed by all other courts in the United States. Since 1935, the Court has met in its own building in Washington, D.C.; before that, it met in the United States Capitol. 

Background
There are 9 justices on the court now: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Courts (a set of all justices of the court while one Chief Justice is serving) are unofficially named for the Chief Justice; the current Court is called the "Roberts Court" after Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Supreme Court chooses which cases it will decide on, by choosing to give a writ of certiorari or not. Almost 7,000 people, known as petitioners, ask the Supreme Court to decide their cases every year, but the court only gives a writ to about 100 or less. 

For the Supreme Court to decide a case, the case must be about: federal law, the Constitution of the United States, disagreements between states or their residents, or another court's decision that differs from what the Supreme Court has decided on a similar case. Cases must first be decided by a federal district court and a federal court of appeals or by a state supreme court. Even after that, the Supreme Court can choose not to decide a case for any reason. Cases about disagreements between states or their residents sometimes can only be decided by the Supreme Court, but those are rare.

The justices serve for life unless they retire or are impeached. If a justice retires, he or she can still be asked to serve as a judge on a federal Court of Appeals. New justices are nominated (picked) by the President of the United States, and then must be approved by the United States Senate.

The most recent justice to be chosen is Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2022, to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. After the Senate approved her, Jackson became the first female African American justice.

The current Court
 Justice /birthdate and place Appointed by SCV Age at Start date /length of service Previous position or office Replaced Start  Present  Buffalo, New York  78-22 50  Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2003–2005) Rehnquist  Pin Point, Georgia  52–48 43   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1990–1991) Marshall  Trenton, New Jersey  58-42 55   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1990–2006) O'Connor  The Bronx, New York  68-31 55   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1998–2009) Souter  Manhattan, New York  63-37 50   Solicitor General of the United States (2009–2010) Stevens  Denver, Colorado  54–45 49   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2006–2017) Scalia  Washington, D.C.  50-48 53   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2006–2018) Kennedy  New Orleans, Louisiana  52–48 48   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2017–2020) Ginsburg  Washington, D.C.  53-47 51   Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2021–2022) Breyer Source:

Living former justices
+ Retired justices of the Supreme Court JusticeBirthdate and place Appointed by Retired under Age at Tenure Start  Retirement  Present  Start date  End date  Length  Sacramento, California   51 82      Stephen BreyerSan Francisco, California   55 83    

References

Category:Supreme Court of the United States