The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court

Leshea Hicks

Professor Dorothy Sliben

LEG420

January 22, 2012

The United States Supreme Court is the last level at the federal level. It is also the only court mentioned in the Constitution. “The constitution states, “the judicial power of the United States shall be in one supreme court”, and Congress may ordain and establish from time to time” (Champion, Hartley & Rabe, 2008). The Supreme Court consists of eight associate justices and one chief justice. Each year the court hears a limited amount of cases if requested. They usually meet on the first Monday in October thru late June; the justices typically meet three times per week to hear cases. They meet also to decide which cases they will take for each session. Most cases brought before the Supreme Court started at the federal or state level, and usually involve constitutional issues, such as immigration laws, abortion, and same sex marriages.

The purpose of the Supreme Court is to monitor the actions of the President and Congress. The Supreme Court can advise the President of wrongdoings considered unconstitutional. The court has the power to veto a law passed by Congress, when it violates the constitution. “The Supreme Court is the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress and the highest law of the Constitution” (“Role of the,” ). The Supreme Court has two main functions: First, to interpret and explain congressional enactments in cases. They interpret state laws and make decisions accordingly. Second, holds the power, supersedes all the courts, and govern over federal and state courts to ensure they follow and uphold the constitutional laws. In reference to the other courts, the Supreme Court only gets involved when at the federal or state level it contains constitutional issues such as immigration, affirmative action, and abortion. These issues can be decided unconstitutional by the Supreme Court if a law was violated at the lower level courts....