Supreme Court Information

The Supreme Court of the United States was created in 1789. It’s Constitutional origin is in Article III. The court consists of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. According to the Supreme Court official website, “The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. The Court stands as the final arbiter of the law and guardian of constitutional liberties.”

To read more information about the Supreme Court, click on Supreme Court of the United States. To see a list of all Supreme Court Justice nominations, whether they were confirmed or not, the president who nominated them, etc., click on Supreme Court Nominations, Present-1789. To see Supreme Court statistics, click on SCOTUSblog Statistics.

Adam Liptak in The New York Times in November 2010 reported the following:

• The Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 that said segregated public schools are unconstitutional was fewer than 4,000 words.
• The Parents Involved v. Seattle in 2007 was 47,000 words.
• Some decisions have been vague or ambiguous.
• “In the 1950s, the median length of decisions was around 2,000 words.”
• The Citizens United v. Federal Election commission decision in 2010 was more than 48,000 words.

To read the entire article, click on Justices Are Long on Words but Short on Guidance.

Carol J. Williams in the Los Angeles Times in April 2011 reported the following:

• Korematsu v. United states in 1944 allowed the “internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans without individual cause or suspicion.”
• Dredd Scott v. Sandford in 1857 decided that descendants of slaves were not entitled to Constitution liberties, including freedom and U.S. citizenship.
• Buck v. Bell in 1927 said that institutionalized individuals may be sexually sterilized.

To read the entire article, click on Legal scholars examine the U.S. high court’s ‘Supreme Mistakes’.

The following video is from 60 Minutes in 2010:

To view the 60 Minutes website, click on 60 Minutes.