United States Government: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court of justice in the United States. This means that there can be no appeal beyond the Supreme Court for any case that comes up to the Supreme Court. However, the President in consultation with the Senate has certain authority to provide reprieves and pardons. The power of the Supreme Court is bestowed on it on the bases of Article III of the U.S. Constitution and the jurisdiction is decided by the statute in Title 28 of the US Code.

The Supreme Court has the responsibility of deciding cases that raise debates with regards to constitutional interpretations. This means that it decides whether specific laws that are being proposed violate the Constitution or not. This process is called the judicial review and therefore the court has the power to invalidate any law that goes against the constitution. In such matters, only a constitutional amendment can change the ruling of the Supreme Court.

The judicial review process makes the Supreme Court the ultimate guardian of the Constitution. It is also therefore a referee for the debates that arise between the various branches of the government.

The Supreme Court also has ultimate authority over the federal courts. All the procedures that the federal courts are required to follow are written and amended by the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court does not have this power over the State Courts.

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United States Government: Supreme Court

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