Here Comes The Judge
An interactive web-based lesson plan for learning about the Supreme Court, the Justices, and landmark decisions.
The purpose of this page is to introduce the learner to the history and traditions of the Supreme Court, justices of today's Supreme Court, and some of the precedent setting decisions of the Supreme Court.
These lessons are suitable for Secondary Social Studies students and other interested persons.
Objectives:
After completing these lessons, the learner will be able to:
Lesson 2: The Justices of the Supreme Court
Lesson 3: Supreme Court Cases
Origins of the Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court plays a crucial role in American Society. Over the past 200 years, the court has issued numerous landmark decisions that have determined the meaning of the Constitution.
Article III of the Constitution created a federal court system consisting of one Supreme Court and other lower courts. In 1789, the U. S. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which established the federal court system. Congress created a Supreme Court, three circuit courts and, thirteen district courts. There was one district court for each of the thirteen States.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States consists of nine justices appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate (a two thirds vote of approval). One justice is appointed as the Chief Justice and has additional administrative duties related both to the Supreme Court and to the entire federal court system.
The Supreme Court meets on the first Monday of October each year and usually continues in session through June. The Supreme Court receives and disposes of about 5,000 cases each year, most by a brief decision that the subject matter is either not proper or not of sufficient importance to warrant review by the full court. Cases are heard en banc, which means by all the justices sitting together in open court. Each year the court decides about 150 cases of great national importance and interest, and about three fourths of such decisions are announced in full published opinions.
The Supreme Court is located across the street from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mailing address for the Court is One First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20543
Top Assignment Lessons Menu Tour of the Court
The Justices of the Supreme Court
There are nine justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.
The Justices of the Supreme Court
John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Buffalo, NewYork, January 27, 1955. He married Jane Marie Sullivan in 1996 and they have twochildren - Josephine and John. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1976 and aJ.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. He served as a law clerk for Judge Henry J.Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1979–1980 andas a law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of theUnited States during the 1980 Term. He was Special Assistant to the Attorney General,U.S. Department of Justice from 1981–1982, Associate Counsel to President RonaldReagan, White House Counsel’s Office from 1982–1986, and Principal Deputy SolicitorGeneral, U.S. Department of Justice from 1989–1993. From 1986–1989 and 1993–2003, hepracticed law in Washington, D.C. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003. President George W. Bush nominated him asChief Justice of the United States, and he took his seat on September 29, 2005.
***
John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, was born in Chicago, Illinois, April 20, 1920.He married Maryan Mulholland, and has four children - John Joseph (deceased), Kathryn,Elizabeth Jane, and Susan Roberta. He received an A.B. from the University of Chicago,and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. He served in the United StatesNavy from 1942–1945, and was a law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge of the Supreme Courtof the United States during the 1947 Term. He was admitted to law practice in Illinois in1949. He was Associate Counsel to the Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power ofthe Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1951–1952, and a memberof the Attorney General’s National Committee to Study Antitrust Law, 1953–1955. He wasSecond Vice President of the Chicago Bar Association in 1970. From 1970–1975, he servedas a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. President Fordnominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat Decem-ber 19, 1975.***
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, March 11, 1936.He married Maureen McCarthy and has nine children - Ann Forrest, Eugene, John Francis,Catherine Elisabeth, Mary Clare, Paul David, Matthew, Christopher James, and MargaretJane. He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg,Switzerland, and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Sheldon Fellow of Har-vard University from 1960–1961. He was in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio from 1961–1967, a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia from 1967–1971, and a Professor ofLaw at the University of Chicago from 1977–1982, and a Visiting Professor of Law atGeorgetown University and Stanford University. He was chairman of the American BarAssociation’s Section of Administrative Law, 1981–1982, and its Conference of SectionChairmen, 1982–1983. He served the federal government as General Counsel of the Officeof Telecommunications Policy from 1971–1972, Chairman of the Administrative Conferenceof the United States from 1972–1974, and Assistant Attorney General for the Office ofLegal Counsel from 1974–1977. He was appointed Judge of the United States Court ofAppeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1982. President Reagan nominated him asan Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat September 26, 1986.**
*Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, was born in Sacramento, California, July23, 1936. He married Mary Davis and has three children. He received his B.A. fromStanford University and the London School of Economics, and his LL.B. from Harvard LawSchool. He was in private practice in San Francisco, California from 1961–1963, as well asin Sacramento, California from 1963–1975. From 1965 to 1988, he was a Professor ofConstitutional Law at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. He hasserved in numerous positions during his career, including a member of the California ArmyNational Guard in 1961, the board of the Federal Judicial Center from 1987–1988, and twocommittees of the Judicial Conference of the United States: the Advisory Panel on Finan-cial Disclosure Reports and Judicial Activities, subsequently renamed the Advisory Com-mittee on Codes of Conduct, from 1979–1987, and the Committee on Pacific Territories from1979–1990, which he chaired from 1982–1990. He was appointed to the United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. President Reagan nominated him as anAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat February 18, 1988.**
*Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, was born in the Pin Point community of Georgianear Savannah June 23, 1948. He married Virginia Lamp in 1987 and has one child, JamalAdeen, by a previous marriage. He attended Conception Seminary and received an A.B.,cum laude, from Holy Cross College, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1974. He wasadmitted to law practice in Missouri in 1974, and served as an Assistant Attorney Generalof Missouri from 1974–1977, an attorney with the Monsanto Company from 1977–1979, andLegislative Assistant to Senator John Danforth from 1979–1981. From 1981–1982, heserved as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, and asChairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1982–1990. Hebecame a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuitin 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, andhe took his seat October 23, 1991.**
*Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son,James. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, andreceived her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the HonorableEdmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District ofNew York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and thenassociate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She wasa Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and ColumbiaLaw School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behav-ioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental inlaunching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served asthe ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for theDistrict of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton nominated her as an AssociateJustice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 1993.**
*Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, was born in San Francisco, California, August15, 1938. He married Joanna Hare in 1967, and has three children - Chloe, Nell, andMichael. He received an A.B. from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College,Oxford, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Justice ArthurGoldberg of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1964 Term, as a SpecialAssistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust, 1965–1967, as an AssistantSpecial Prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1973, as Special Counsel ofthe U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1974–1975, and as Chief Counsel of the committee,1979–1980. He was an Assistant Professor, Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard LawSchool, 1967–1994, a Professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government,1977–1980, and a Visiting Professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia and at theUniversity of Rome. From 1980–1990, he served as a Judge of the United States Court ofAppeals for the First Circuit, and as its Chief Judge, 1990–1994. He also served as amember of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1990–1994, and of the UnitedStates Sentencing Commission, 1985–1989. President Clinton nominated him as an Asso-ciate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat August 3, 1994.**
*Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, April 1,1950. He married Martha-Ann Bomgardner in 1985, and has two children - Philip andLaura. He served as a law clerk for Leonard I. Garth of the United States Court of Appealsfor the Third Circuit from 1976–1977. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of NewJersey, 1977–1981, Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1981–1985, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1985–1987, and U.S.Attorney, District of New Jersey, 1987–1990. He was appointed to the United States Courtof Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990. President George W. Bush nominated him as anAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on January 31, 2006.**
*Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was born inBronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University,graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the YaleLaw Journal. She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County DistrictAttorney’s Office from 1979-1984. She then litigated international commercial matters inNew York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partnerfrom 1984-1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. DistrictCourt, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992-1998. Sheserved as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998-2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the SupremeCourt on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role on August 8, 2009.*
**Sandra Day O’Connor (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in El Paso, Texas,March 26, 1930. She married John Jay O’Connor III in 1952 and has three sons - Scott,Brian, and Jay. She received her B.A. and LL.B. from Stanford University. She served asDeputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952–1953 and as a civilianattorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany from 1954–1957. From1958–1960, she practiced law in Maryvale, Arizona, and served as Assistant AttorneyGeneral of Arizona from 1965–1969. She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in1969 and was subsequently reelected to two two-year terms. In 1975 she was elected Judgeof the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed tothe Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an Associate Justice ofthe Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 1981. Justice O’Connor retiredfrom the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.**
*David H. Souter (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in Melrose, Massachusetts,September 17, 1939. He was graduated from Harvard College, from which he receivedhis A.B. After two years as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he received anA.B. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and an M.A. in 1989. After receivingan LL.B. from Harvard Law School, he was an associate at Orr and Reno in ConcordNew Hampshire from 1966 to 1968, when he became an Assistant Attorney General of NewHampshire. In 1971, he became Deputy Attorney General and in 1976, Attorney General ofNew Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of NewHampshire, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire as an AssociateJustice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the FirstCircuit on May 25, 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of theSupreme Court, and he took his seat October 9, 1990. Justice Souter retired fromthe Supreme Court on June 29, 2009.
Supreme Court Cases
Below is a mini brief for the case that set the precedent for judicial review, or the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional. This power is key to our concept of checks and balances.
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) (USSC+)
Circumstances of the Case
William Marbury was appointed a justice of the peace during the final days of Federalist President John Adams administration. When the Republican secretary of state, James Madison, found the commissions (paperwork for the appointment) scattered around his desk, he took them to the new President, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson felt that the last minute appointments were another effort by Adams and the Federalists to keep their hands in the government. He ordered his secretary of state not to deliver them.
When Madison refused to deliver Marbury's commission, Marbury asked the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus (an order), demanding that the secretary of state deliver the appointment. Section XIII of the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the court the authority to resolve conflicts of this sort by issuing such writs.
Constitutional Issues
The case involved the Court's interpretation of Article III of the Constitution, the Judicial Powers, and Article I, Legislative Powers. Did Marbury have a right to his commission, since it was signed and sealed but not delivered? Could the Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus to Secretary of State Madison? Did the Supreme Court have the authority to act under Section XIII of the Judiciary Act of 1789? Was Section XIII of the Judiciary Act a reasonable and constitutional use of the powers granted the national government in the Constitution, or was it, in fact, unconstitutional? If so, did the Court have the power to declare a law unconstitutional?
Arguments
For Marbury
By a unanimous vote (6-0) the court ruled that, given the details of the case, Marbury's request for a writ of mandamus was reasonable. However, the court could not base its decision on the particulars of the case because the redress sought was not constitutional.
In his complex ruling, Chief Justice Marshall wrote that by authorizing the Court to issue writs of mandamus, Congress had gone beyond "the intent of the framers" since the Constitution itself granted no such powers to the Court. He went on to say that, "We feel that the court must obey the Constitution and not the unconstitutional statute," and struck down portions of the Judiciary Act of 1789, declaring them unconstitutional.
In his ruling, Marshall asserted the duty of the Supreme Court to interpret the law and firmly established the power of judicial review. This landmark decision helper to make the judicial branch an equal partner in the United States.
An interactive web-based lesson plan for learning about the Supreme Court, the Justices, and landmark decisions.
The purpose of this page is to introduce the learner to the history and traditions of the Supreme Court, justices of today's Supreme Court, and some of the precedent setting decisions of the Supreme Court.
These lessons are suitable for Secondary Social Studies students and other interested persons.
Objectives:
After completing these lessons, the learner will be able to:
- explain the origins of the Supreme Court,
- list all of the justices of the Supreme Court,
- explain judicial review and the case that set the precedent for it,
- cite and discuss at least three other precedent setting cases,
- prepare a modified brief for a court case.
Lesson 2: The Justices of the Supreme Court
Lesson 3: Supreme Court Cases
Origins of the Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court plays a crucial role in American Society. Over the past 200 years, the court has issued numerous landmark decisions that have determined the meaning of the Constitution.
Article III of the Constitution created a federal court system consisting of one Supreme Court and other lower courts. In 1789, the U. S. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which established the federal court system. Congress created a Supreme Court, three circuit courts and, thirteen district courts. There was one district court for each of the thirteen States.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States consists of nine justices appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate (a two thirds vote of approval). One justice is appointed as the Chief Justice and has additional administrative duties related both to the Supreme Court and to the entire federal court system.
The Supreme Court meets on the first Monday of October each year and usually continues in session through June. The Supreme Court receives and disposes of about 5,000 cases each year, most by a brief decision that the subject matter is either not proper or not of sufficient importance to warrant review by the full court. Cases are heard en banc, which means by all the justices sitting together in open court. Each year the court decides about 150 cases of great national importance and interest, and about three fourths of such decisions are announced in full published opinions.
The Supreme Court is located across the street from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mailing address for the Court is One First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20543
Top Assignment Lessons Menu Tour of the Court
The Justices of the Supreme Court
There are nine justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.
The Justices of the Supreme Court
John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Buffalo, NewYork, January 27, 1955. He married Jane Marie Sullivan in 1996 and they have twochildren - Josephine and John. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1976 and aJ.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. He served as a law clerk for Judge Henry J.Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1979–1980 andas a law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of theUnited States during the 1980 Term. He was Special Assistant to the Attorney General,U.S. Department of Justice from 1981–1982, Associate Counsel to President RonaldReagan, White House Counsel’s Office from 1982–1986, and Principal Deputy SolicitorGeneral, U.S. Department of Justice from 1989–1993. From 1986–1989 and 1993–2003, hepracticed law in Washington, D.C. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003. President George W. Bush nominated him asChief Justice of the United States, and he took his seat on September 29, 2005.
***
John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, was born in Chicago, Illinois, April 20, 1920.He married Maryan Mulholland, and has four children - John Joseph (deceased), Kathryn,Elizabeth Jane, and Susan Roberta. He received an A.B. from the University of Chicago,and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. He served in the United StatesNavy from 1942–1945, and was a law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge of the Supreme Courtof the United States during the 1947 Term. He was admitted to law practice in Illinois in1949. He was Associate Counsel to the Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power ofthe Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1951–1952, and a memberof the Attorney General’s National Committee to Study Antitrust Law, 1953–1955. He wasSecond Vice President of the Chicago Bar Association in 1970. From 1970–1975, he servedas a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. President Fordnominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat Decem-ber 19, 1975.***
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, March 11, 1936.He married Maureen McCarthy and has nine children - Ann Forrest, Eugene, John Francis,Catherine Elisabeth, Mary Clare, Paul David, Matthew, Christopher James, and MargaretJane. He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg,Switzerland, and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Sheldon Fellow of Har-vard University from 1960–1961. He was in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio from 1961–1967, a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia from 1967–1971, and a Professor ofLaw at the University of Chicago from 1977–1982, and a Visiting Professor of Law atGeorgetown University and Stanford University. He was chairman of the American BarAssociation’s Section of Administrative Law, 1981–1982, and its Conference of SectionChairmen, 1982–1983. He served the federal government as General Counsel of the Officeof Telecommunications Policy from 1971–1972, Chairman of the Administrative Conferenceof the United States from 1972–1974, and Assistant Attorney General for the Office ofLegal Counsel from 1974–1977. He was appointed Judge of the United States Court ofAppeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1982. President Reagan nominated him asan Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat September 26, 1986.**
*Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, was born in Sacramento, California, July23, 1936. He married Mary Davis and has three children. He received his B.A. fromStanford University and the London School of Economics, and his LL.B. from Harvard LawSchool. He was in private practice in San Francisco, California from 1961–1963, as well asin Sacramento, California from 1963–1975. From 1965 to 1988, he was a Professor ofConstitutional Law at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. He hasserved in numerous positions during his career, including a member of the California ArmyNational Guard in 1961, the board of the Federal Judicial Center from 1987–1988, and twocommittees of the Judicial Conference of the United States: the Advisory Panel on Finan-cial Disclosure Reports and Judicial Activities, subsequently renamed the Advisory Com-mittee on Codes of Conduct, from 1979–1987, and the Committee on Pacific Territories from1979–1990, which he chaired from 1982–1990. He was appointed to the United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. President Reagan nominated him as anAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat February 18, 1988.**
*Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, was born in the Pin Point community of Georgianear Savannah June 23, 1948. He married Virginia Lamp in 1987 and has one child, JamalAdeen, by a previous marriage. He attended Conception Seminary and received an A.B.,cum laude, from Holy Cross College, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1974. He wasadmitted to law practice in Missouri in 1974, and served as an Assistant Attorney Generalof Missouri from 1974–1977, an attorney with the Monsanto Company from 1977–1979, andLegislative Assistant to Senator John Danforth from 1979–1981. From 1981–1982, heserved as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, and asChairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1982–1990. Hebecame a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuitin 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, andhe took his seat October 23, 1991.**
*Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son,James. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, andreceived her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the HonorableEdmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District ofNew York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and thenassociate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She wasa Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and ColumbiaLaw School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behav-ioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental inlaunching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served asthe ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for theDistrict of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton nominated her as an AssociateJustice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 1993.**
*Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, was born in San Francisco, California, August15, 1938. He married Joanna Hare in 1967, and has three children - Chloe, Nell, andMichael. He received an A.B. from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College,Oxford, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Justice ArthurGoldberg of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1964 Term, as a SpecialAssistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust, 1965–1967, as an AssistantSpecial Prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1973, as Special Counsel ofthe U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1974–1975, and as Chief Counsel of the committee,1979–1980. He was an Assistant Professor, Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard LawSchool, 1967–1994, a Professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government,1977–1980, and a Visiting Professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia and at theUniversity of Rome. From 1980–1990, he served as a Judge of the United States Court ofAppeals for the First Circuit, and as its Chief Judge, 1990–1994. He also served as amember of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1990–1994, and of the UnitedStates Sentencing Commission, 1985–1989. President Clinton nominated him as an Asso-ciate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat August 3, 1994.**
*Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, April 1,1950. He married Martha-Ann Bomgardner in 1985, and has two children - Philip andLaura. He served as a law clerk for Leonard I. Garth of the United States Court of Appealsfor the Third Circuit from 1976–1977. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of NewJersey, 1977–1981, Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1981–1985, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1985–1987, and U.S.Attorney, District of New Jersey, 1987–1990. He was appointed to the United States Courtof Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990. President George W. Bush nominated him as anAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on January 31, 2006.**
*Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was born inBronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University,graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the YaleLaw Journal. She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County DistrictAttorney’s Office from 1979-1984. She then litigated international commercial matters inNew York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partnerfrom 1984-1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. DistrictCourt, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992-1998. Sheserved as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998-2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the SupremeCourt on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role on August 8, 2009.*
**Sandra Day O’Connor (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in El Paso, Texas,March 26, 1930. She married John Jay O’Connor III in 1952 and has three sons - Scott,Brian, and Jay. She received her B.A. and LL.B. from Stanford University. She served asDeputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952–1953 and as a civilianattorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany from 1954–1957. From1958–1960, she practiced law in Maryvale, Arizona, and served as Assistant AttorneyGeneral of Arizona from 1965–1969. She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in1969 and was subsequently reelected to two two-year terms. In 1975 she was elected Judgeof the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed tothe Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an Associate Justice ofthe Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 1981. Justice O’Connor retiredfrom the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.**
*David H. Souter (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in Melrose, Massachusetts,September 17, 1939. He was graduated from Harvard College, from which he receivedhis A.B. After two years as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he received anA.B. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and an M.A. in 1989. After receivingan LL.B. from Harvard Law School, he was an associate at Orr and Reno in ConcordNew Hampshire from 1966 to 1968, when he became an Assistant Attorney General of NewHampshire. In 1971, he became Deputy Attorney General and in 1976, Attorney General ofNew Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of NewHampshire, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire as an AssociateJustice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the FirstCircuit on May 25, 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of theSupreme Court, and he took his seat October 9, 1990. Justice Souter retired fromthe Supreme Court on June 29, 2009.
Supreme Court Cases
Below is a mini brief for the case that set the precedent for judicial review, or the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional. This power is key to our concept of checks and balances.
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) (USSC+)
Circumstances of the Case
William Marbury was appointed a justice of the peace during the final days of Federalist President John Adams administration. When the Republican secretary of state, James Madison, found the commissions (paperwork for the appointment) scattered around his desk, he took them to the new President, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson felt that the last minute appointments were another effort by Adams and the Federalists to keep their hands in the government. He ordered his secretary of state not to deliver them.
When Madison refused to deliver Marbury's commission, Marbury asked the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus (an order), demanding that the secretary of state deliver the appointment. Section XIII of the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the court the authority to resolve conflicts of this sort by issuing such writs.
Constitutional Issues
The case involved the Court's interpretation of Article III of the Constitution, the Judicial Powers, and Article I, Legislative Powers. Did Marbury have a right to his commission, since it was signed and sealed but not delivered? Could the Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus to Secretary of State Madison? Did the Supreme Court have the authority to act under Section XIII of the Judiciary Act of 1789? Was Section XIII of the Judiciary Act a reasonable and constitutional use of the powers granted the national government in the Constitution, or was it, in fact, unconstitutional? If so, did the Court have the power to declare a law unconstitutional?
Arguments
For Marbury
- Since Marbury's commission had been signed and sealed by the proper authority, he was entitled to his appointment.
- The court was authorized to issue the writ of mandamus under the Judiciary Act of 1789.
- Since Madison was clearly not doing his duty as a public official, the court should issue the writ to compel him to do so.
- The commissions were based on a law (the Judiciary Act of 1801) that had been repealed at a later date by Congress.
- The law was a political move by the Federalists to retain control of one part of the government, and was, therefore, clearly improper.
By a unanimous vote (6-0) the court ruled that, given the details of the case, Marbury's request for a writ of mandamus was reasonable. However, the court could not base its decision on the particulars of the case because the redress sought was not constitutional.
In his complex ruling, Chief Justice Marshall wrote that by authorizing the Court to issue writs of mandamus, Congress had gone beyond "the intent of the framers" since the Constitution itself granted no such powers to the Court. He went on to say that, "We feel that the court must obey the Constitution and not the unconstitutional statute," and struck down portions of the Judiciary Act of 1789, declaring them unconstitutional.
In his ruling, Marshall asserted the duty of the Supreme Court to interpret the law and firmly established the power of judicial review. This landmark decision helper to make the judicial branch an equal partner in the United States.
