Article III

1. Article III • The Judicial Branch – the branch that judgesthe laws. That means the Supreme Court judges whether or not a law contradicts the Constitution.

2. Article III • The Constitution explained neither the exact powers and prerogatives of the Supreme Court nor the organization of the Judicial Branch as a whole. Thus it was left to Congress and to the Justices of the Court through their precedents (decisions) to develop the Federal judiciary and a body of Federal law.

3. Article III • Judiciary Act of 1789 – the first bill introduced in the United States Senate. It divided the country into 13 judicial districts (sections), which were in turn organized into three circuits: the Eastern, Middle and Southern. • The Supreme Court, the country’s highest tribunal, was to sit in the Nation’s capital and was initially composed of a Chief Justice and five Associate Justices.

4. Article III • The Supreme Court first assembled on February 1, 1790 in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City. Why? • The first Supreme Court Chief Justice was John Jay. • The first opinion was handed down in 1792.

5. Article III • Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. • To ensure an independent judiciary and to protect the judges from partisan pressure (pressure from one party or another or from one Presidential administration or another) the Constitution provides that judges serve during “good behavior” which has generally meant life terms.

6. Article III • The number of Justices on the Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869. • There have only been 17 Chief Justices and 100 Associate Justices • Can you name the current Court?

7. The Supreme Court • Anthony Kennedy (Reagan ‘88) • Clarence Thomas (G. H. Bush ’91 ) • Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton ‘93) • Stephen Breyer (Clinton ‘94) • John Roberts – Chief Justice (G.W. Bush ’06) • Samuel Alito (G.W. Bush ‘06 ) • Sonia Sotomayor (Obama ‘09) • Elena Kagan (Obama ‘10) • Neil Gorsuch (Trump ‘17)

8. Article III • Did you know that approximately every 22 months a new Justice joins the court? • Washington has appointed the most with 10 Justices. • FDR can close and appointed 8. • Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female on the Court. • Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to be appointed to the high court.

9. Article III • “Equal Justice Under Law” – these words, written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court. The Court is the highest tribunal in the nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter (judge) of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law , and there by also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.

10. Article III • The unique position of the Supreme Court stems, in large part, from the deep commitment of the American people to the Rule of Law and to constitutional government. The United States has demonstrated an unprecedented determination to preserve and protect its written Constitution, thereby providing the American “experiment in democracy” with the oldest written constitution still in force.

11. Article III • The Constitution is a carefully balanced document. It is designed to provide a national government sufficiently strong and flexible to meet the needs of the Republic, yet sufficiently limited and just to protect the guaranteed rights of citizens; it permits a balance between society’s need for order and the individual’s right to freedom.

12. Article III • Judicial Review – The Supreme Courts authority to invalidate legislation or executive action which, in the Court’s considered judgment, conflict with the Constitution. • This power of Judicial Review has given the Court a crucial responsibility in assuring individual rights, as well as in maintaining a “living Constitution” whose broad provisions are continually applied to complicated new situations.

13. Article III • The Constitution limits the Court to dealing with “cases” and “controversies.” • John Jay, the first Chief Justice, clarified this restraint early in the Court’s history by declining to advise President Washington on the constitutional implication of a proposed foreign policy decision. • The Court does not give advisory opinions! • In other words, the Court can not answer a “what if question”; they can only rule on something that has happened.

14. Article III • When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue that judgment is virtually final; its decision can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of the constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court. However, when the Court interprets a statute (law), new legislative action can be taken.

15. Article III • Chief Justice John Marshall expressed the challenge which the Supreme Court faces in maintaining free government by noting “We must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding…intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.”

16. Article IV • Relations Among the States – Official acts of one state must be recognized as legal by all other states. That is, when a law is passed in Maine, it must be accepted here in California and every where else. • States must treat citizens of another state as fairly as they treat their own citizens. In other words, a resident of one state may not be discriminated against unreasonably by other states. • If a person is charged with a crime and escapes/flees to another state, they must be returned to the state in which the crime was committed to stand trial. Returning a fugitive is known as extradition. A governor can refuse to honor the request for extradition if it will result in an injustice to the fugitive.

17. Article IV • Only Congress can admit states to the Union. New states are admitted on the basis of equality with older states. No state may be formed out of bits and pieces of other states or territories without their consent. The general process is outlined by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. • Congress has the power to control all property belonging to the United States. It can set up governments for territories, establish national parks and forests, authorize reclamation projects and exercise eminent domain (taking of private property for public use through condemnation).

18. Article IV • The Federal government guarantees to each state a republicanform of government (one in which people choose their own representatives to run the government, make decisions for them and make the laws in agreement with delegated power), protection against invasions and protection against disturbances (riots/rebellion) within the state. The Federal government can use whatever means is necessary to prevent foreign invasion and to put down domestic violence.

19. Article V • Amending the Constitution – Amendments may be proposed by either a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress or by the request of two-thirds of the states. • Amendments must be ratified (agreed to) by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or by three-fourths of special conventions held in each state. • There is one prohibition against change – that is, no state can be denied its equal representation in the Senate. • To date there have been 27 Amendments added to the Constitution

20. Article VI General Provisions • Public debt – All money previously borrowed by the government under the Articles of Confederation will be repaid under the new government and the Constitution. • Federal Supremacy – Also known as the “Supremacy Clause” and guarantees that federal law will take priority over state laws in cases of conflict. • – All federal and state officials must take an oath of office promising to support and uphold the Constitution. As part of the separation of church and state, it is illegal to have a religious requirement for someone holding office.

21. Article VII • Ratification - In order for the Constitution to be ratified, nine out of thirteen states had to agree. (Delaware was first and New Hampshire was ninth) • The Constitution went into effect in March of 1789!