An Introduction to Public Interest Law

The Supreme Court functions as the highest tribunal in the nation, with a focus on disputes stemming from conflicting interpretations of constitutional law. Located at the Supreme Court Building at One First Street, NE, in Washington, D.C., the justices of the Supreme Court also take on cases involving other laws of the United States. The Court stands as the final arbiter in legal matters, meaning a case that fails before the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to a higher court.

The composition of the Supreme Court includes a Chief Justice and a number of Associate Justices, as determined by Congress. The Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the number of Associate Justices at eight, a standard that remains in place today. The President of the United States is responsible for making nominations to the Supreme Court, though nominations must be vetted and approved by the Senate.

The Chief Justice and Associate Justices are supported by a number of court officers, ranging from the Counselor to the Chief Justice to the Director of Information Technology.

The history of the Supreme Court can be traced back to the Judiciary Act of 1789. The first assembly of the Court occurred the following year at the Royal Exchange in New York City. The assembly featured Chief Justice John Jay and five Associate Justices: James Iredell, James Wilson, John Rutledge, John Blair, and William Cushing.

The Court initially met twice a year in the nation’s capital. Meetings were held on the first Monday of February and August. In the early days of the Court, justices engaged in “circuit riding” activities, which involved an additional two annual meetings at district courts throughout the US. However, these meetings were performed by individual justices, who traveled one or several geographical circuits, as opposed to the entire Court assembling in various states. It was not uncommon for justices to travel thousands of miles by horseback and carriage during riding circuit duties.

The more than 230 years of Supreme Court tradition and history is maintained through the Supreme Court Historical Society. Over the following centuries, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has made a number of landmark decisions.

In 1978, for example, the Court determined that academic institutions can use race as a determining factor for student enrollment, so long as the concept of “fixed quotas” is not in play. This decision came in the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. A few other famous Supreme Court cases include Roe v. Wade, Plessy v. Ferguson, and United States v. Nixon.

The current composition of the Supreme Court is Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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