What are the 3 branches of the Gov T and its functions?

How the Supreme Court Works

The Supreme Court is:

• The highest court in the country
• Located in Washington, DC
• The head of the judicial branch of the federal government
• Responsible for deciding whether laws violate the Constitution
• In session from early October until late June or early July

How a Case Gets to the Supreme Court

Most cases reach the Court on appeal. An appeal is a request for a higher court to reverse the decision of a lower court. Most appeals come from federal courts. They can come from state courts if a case deals with federal law.

Rarely, the Court hears a new case, such as one between states.

1. Dissatisfied parties petition the Court for review
   Parties may appeal their case to the Supreme Court, petitioning the Court to review the decision of the lower court.

2. Justices study documents
   The Justices examine the petition and supporting materials.

3. Justices vote
   Four Justices must vote in favor for a case to be granted review.

What Happens Once a Case is Selected for Review?

1. Parties make arguments
   The Justices review the briefs (written arguments) and hear oral arguments. In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case. The Justices typically ask many questions during this time.

2. Justices write opinions
   The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions.

   The majority opinion shared by more than half of the Justices becomes the Court’s decision.

   Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions.

3. The Court issues its decision
   Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions. Once the opinions are completed and all of the Justices have cast a final vote, the Court “hands down” its decision.

   All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision.

Every year:

The Court receives 7,000-8,000 requests for review and grants 70-80 for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument.

About the Justices:

There are nine Justices:

• A Chief Justice, who sits in the middle and is the head of the judicial branch.
• Eight Associate Justices

When a new Justice is needed:

• The President nominates a candidate, usually a federal judge.
• The Senate votes to confirm the nominee.
• The Court can continue deciding cases with less than nine Justices, but if there is a tie, the lower court’s decision stands.

Justices are appointed for life, though they may resign or retire.

• They serve an average of 16 years.

The role of the executive branch is to enforce the nation’s laws. The executive branch is led by the president, who is the commander in chief of the military and responsible for signing or vetoing laws presented to them by Congress. The executive branch also includes the vice president, who is the president of the Senate and will take over if the president cannot perform his duties, as well as the Cabinet, who are advisors to the president. The enforcement of laws in the executive branch is often performed by various federal agencies and departments.       

The website for the Office of the President of the United States contains a great deal of information on the current executives.

A White House publication on the executive branch includes information on the responsibilities of the president and vice president, the role of the Cabinet, and descriptions of the executive departments.

The American Presidency Project, hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, includes presidential papers, addresses, speeches, and more.

The Federal Register provides a database that contains information on presidential documents, including executive orders, proclamations, and other items.

It took four long months of debate for the framers to create the Constitution. As the framers worked, different plans and suggestions were made.

The states with smaller populations supported the New Jersey Plan which sought equal representation among all states, and which added an executive and judicial branch, while giving the government power to tax and regulate trade. The larger states sought to have representation in the new government based on population. They created the Virginia Plan, which did this, and which not only created three branches of government, but also gave the government much more power than under the Articles.

The result of all this debate was the Great Compromise, which resulted in the Constitution we know today. It solved the representation squabble by creating a bicameral legislature, called Congress, in which the lower house (called the House of Representatives) had representation based on population, and an upper house (called the Senate) had equal representation by states (2 Senators representing each state).

An executive branch was created, headed by a President to be elected by the people (and an electoral college).

A judicial branch was also added, with one Supreme Court, whose members were to be chosen by the chief executive and confirmed by the Senate.

The new government was given the right to tax, to regulate trade and make national laws. It was much more powerful than the national government had been under the Articles of Confederation. The framers finished their work on the Constitution in September of 1787.

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