Abigail Tierney
Research expert covering U.S. politics and economics
Supreme Court of the U.S. - statistics & facts
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the country's judicial system, and a co-equal branch of government along with the Presidency and Congress. It has authority over all U.S. federal court cases, as well as state court cases that involve the Constitution or federal law. Additionally, as a check on the executive branch, it is vested with the power to overturn presidential directives it deems in violation of either the Constitution or statutory law. The Court was established by Article Three of the United States Constitution and consists of the Chief Justice, and eight Associate Justices, all of whom serve life-time appointments.
Appointments to the Court
The power to appoint Supreme Court Justices lies with the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy on the bench arises, the president may nominate a suitable candidate, and a simple majority (51 votes) of the Senate must vote in favor of the appointment. The legal framework does not set out any qualifications for becoming a Supreme Court justice and as such, each president may employ their own criteria for selecting candidates to fill Supreme Court vacancies. While professional excellence has been regarded as a pre-requisite for justices since the founding of the court, political considerations may also play a significant role in the appointments process, with presidents usually inclined to select a nominee whose political or ideological views appear compatible with their own. This, combined with the lobbying power of special interest groups and the increasingly divisive nature of U.S. politics has meant that the confirmation process has attracted significant attention, and criticism.Confirmation controversy
A notable contemporary criticism may be the March 2016 nomination of Merrick Garland by Barack Obama to replace Justice Antonin Scalia after his death. The nomination was blocked by then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who argued that, as an election was scheduled to take place alter that year, the American people should have the opportunity to decide who chooses the next Supreme Court justice, despite public opposition. A Trump nominee, Neil Gorsuch, was subsequently appointed to the court to fill Scalia's seat. There was additional outrage when, in September 2018, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, leaving another vacancy months before a presidential election. Senator McConnell reversed course from his previous conviction that Supreme Court appointments should not be made in an election year, and the Senate confirmed the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Court in October 2020. The appointment of Justice Barrett gave the court a 6-3 conservative ideological majority.The contemporary Court
The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Justice John Roberts, appointed by George W. Bush in 2005. Among current members of the court, Clarence Thomas is the longest-serving justice. Following the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022, the court consists of six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three appointed by Democratic presidents. It is widely accepted that Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett make up the Court's conservative wing, and that Justices Sotomayor and Kagan make up the liberal wing; Justice Jackson is expected to join them. In general, the current Court is seen as being very conservative, and having too much power by Americans. Additionally, a string of Supreme Court decisions surrounding climate change, gun laws, affirmative action, student loans, and abortion rights has led to public opinion of the Court reaching an all-time-low. Reforms to the Court have been proposed, such as implementing term limits, or adding additional justices in order to sway the ideological make-up of the court, which is both unpopular and regarded as a political non-starter.Abigail Tierney
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Jul 11, 2024
Abigail Tierney
Research expert covering U.S. politics and economics
