Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch of the United States government was established by Article III of the U.S. Constitution. 

There are currently nine Justices (Supreme Court judges). Out of these nine is the Chief Justice.

In order to become a Supreme Court judge (Justice), there are no specific qualifications, but most have been trained in law. The judges are not elected by the people like the president and members of congress, they are appointed by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. 

The U.S. President can nominate anyone they choose, but the Senate must approve the nominee. If the Senate decides against the nominee the President must then supply them with another nominee.

The Constitution doesn't say how many Supreme Court Justices there should be. There have been as few as 6 justices in the past, but since 1869 there have been 9 justices. The President nominates all the Supreme Court members and the Senate confirms them. They hold their offices for life. 

Court System of the United States

There is a hierarchy of federal courts in the United States. District courts cover area of the countries and handle most of the federal cases and the first level of trials. Above them is the 13 courts of appeals. At the top of the Judicial Branch is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has the final say. 

The United States Supreme Court Federal judges are appointed for life. They can only be removed from office by death or by impeachment from Congress. This is to allow judges to make decisions based on their conscience and not on what they feel they need to do to get elected. The job of the courts is to interpret the laws of the Congress. They do not make laws. They also only make decisions on actual cases where someone has shown that they have been harmed. 

The Supreme Court doesn't have a lot of trials. What they mostly do is review cases that have been appealed from the lower courts. Not all cases that are sent to the Supreme Court are reviewed. Around 7,500 requests are sent to the Supreme Court each year and they only consider around 150 important enough to review. 

The Judicial Process The Constitution states that every person has the right to a fair trial before a competent judge and a jury of their peers. The Bill of Rights adds to this guaranteeing other rights such as a speedy trial, the right to legal representation, the right not to be tried for the same crime twice, and protection from cruel punishments. 

Once arrested for a crime, the accused will get to appear before a judge to be charged with the crime and to enter a plea of guilty or not-guilty. Next the accused is given a lawyer, if they can't afford their own, and is given time to review the evidence and build up their defense. Then the case is tried before a judge and a jury. 

If the jury determines that the defendant is not-guilty, then charges are dropped and the accused goes free. If the jury has a guilty verdict, then the judge determines the sentence. If one side feels that the trial wasn't handled correctly or fairly, they can appeal to a higher court. The higher court may overturn the decision or keep it the same. The highest court is the Supreme Court. There is no appealing a Supreme Court decision.

Since our government was established, more than one hundred justices have served on the Court, and until recently, all were men. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman named to the Supreme Court. She was appointed in 1981. Known as a swing vote through much of her Supreme Court service, Sandra Day O'Connor retired January 31, 2006. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seated in 1993 as the second woman.

Thousands of lawyers from all over the country go to the Supreme Court every year hoping to plead their cases. 

The Supreme Court rules only on the most important cases. Often these cases are those that concern basic freedoms and civil rights protected by the Bill of Rights. 

Sometimes the Supreme Court is asked to make a decision so important that the whole country pays careful attention to its ruling. 

Racial segregation (the separation of black and white people) in public schools was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1954. The Court’s unanimous opinion outlawing this kind of separation in public schools was written by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Schools all over the United States were affected by this decision. This decision also paved the way for new civil rights laws passed in the years that followed.

Read about the Supreme Court Justices. 
Here and Here

Pick one that you are interested in and do a little bit more research. Share in the comments what you learned!