"Counsel, Lay A Foundation"

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. It took 200 years for Americans to accept the courts authority. John Marshall is the person who created the supreme court. Under Marshall the court made the constitution and earned respect of equal branch of government. Within the Supreme Court you have the Chief Justice of the USA and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the 'advice and consent' (majority vote) of the Senate. With the coming of the Supreme Court was the 14th amendment. One of the many amendments that were important in history. The 14th amendment abolished slavery, defined citizenship and amend voting rights for African Americans. Before this happened, you had the Dredd vs. Scott case, this case claimed that Dredd's freedom under an act of congress. This showed people that there was zero power to ban slavery and blacks could never be citizens. This decision that the court made weakened the courts authority. With this after the war, they changed the 14th amendment. The Dredd vs Scott case was known as the courts great inflicted wound.

A couple of facts about the Supreme Court:

- The court really didn't have a fully functional home until 1935.

- "The Conference" is the court's word for the justice as a collective.

- The Supreme Cout Building has 300 members of the public, who can attend arguments on a first-come, first-served basis.

- The Supreme Court does not allow television or other cameras in the courtroom.

- During the 2010-2011 term, 7,857 new petitions for review reached the court.

- Youngest Justice appointed: Joseph Story (age 32)

- Oldest Justice appointed: Horace Lurton (age 65)

- First woman justice: Sandra Day O'Connor

- President to appoint the most justices: George Washington (11)

- President to appoint the most justices in the 20th century: Franklin Roosevelt (9)

source: blog.oup.com, www.factmonster.com