The United States Supreme Court
Our United States Constitution guarantees American citizens certain rights and liberties. One such constitutionally protected right is the right to a fair trial before our peers. The Constitutional origin of our nations Supreme Court is in Article III (the Judiciary) Section 1 and it states that “the judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
When cases have been heard at the local and state levels and the process of appeal commences, the Supreme Court has the final say on whether or not to overturn the verdict in question. Appeal hearings are granted based upon trial errors, an error in conclusion, the verdict is in conflict with legal precedent, and if the verdict does not consider a relevant portion of the constitution. If, upon conclusion of a Supreme Court trial, the verdict is not overturned, then the appellate course of action available to the defending party stands and cannot be further challenged in a court of law.
Our current and 16th Chief Justice is John G. Roberts, Jr., who was appointed by US President George W. Bush in 2005. Roberts is a Harvard Law School graduate and has 26 years of experience in the legal profession.
Our current Associate Justices are as follows:
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg, nominated by US President Bill Clinton in 1993.
- David Hackett Souter, nominated by US President George Bush in 1990.
- Clarence Thomas, nominated by US President George Bush in 1991.
- Stephen Breyer, nominated by US President Bill Clinton in 1994.
- Antonin Scalia, nominated by US President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
- John Paul Stevens, nominated by US President Gerald Ford in 1975.
- Anthony M. Kennedy, nominated by US President Gerald Ford in 1975.
- Samuel Alito, nominated by US President George W. Bush in 2006.
U.S. Supreme Court Links
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