THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
There are nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A majority means that more than half of the justices vote the same way on a case. For example: When 9 Supreme Court Justices hear a case, at least 5 justices must vote the same on the case in order to have a majority.
One of the important roles of the Judicial Branch is to review laws. This means that they can decide if a law follows the Constitution. In the United States, the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. This means that everyone in the United States must follow the Constitution. This also means that the laws that Congress writes must also follow the Constitution. If someone in the United States thinks that a law does not follow the Constitution, that person can bring a legal case to a federal court to challenge the law.
Each of the courts in the Judicial Branch can only review a law if there is a legal case before it. This means that the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts can only make a decision about a law or a legal case when they have the legal authority to hear a case that is brought before the court.
The Supreme Court may review a decision about a law or legal case from a lower federal court. If the Supreme Court reviews a decision about a law or legal case, then they must make a decision. There are no other courts in the United States that can change the decision of the Supreme Court. This is one reason that the Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES a case.
Statue of Lady Justice
Courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States.
There are nine justices on the Supreme Court. The word "justice" is another word for "judge." After the Supreme Court reviews a case, the justices meet to discuss the case and vote on the decision.
One justice on the Supreme Court is called the Chief Justice of the United States. The Chief Justice has many duties. Some of the duties are:
Leading the other Supreme Court justices in choosing which cases to hear.
Managing the courtroom when the Supreme Court is hearing
Leading discussions with other Supreme Court justices about deciding a case.
The Chief Justice serves as a leader on the Supreme Court, but the justices make their own decisions when voting on each case. When a majority of the justices vote the same way on a case, they write a decision that explains their reasons.
To find the name of the current Chief Justice of the United States, please visit: supremecourt.gov/about/justices.aspx.
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