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The Supreme Court of the United States: The Highest Court in the Land
The United States is sometimes known as a society of laws. The phrase reflects Americans' ability to conduct our business and personal affairs and to exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution against a background of predictable and peaceably enforceable legal norms. So accepted are these norms that they seem often to blend into the background, taken almost for granted until a dispute arises. When disputes do arise, Americans from all walks of life turn to their judicial system to adjudicate their legal rights and responsibilities.
The ultimate interpreter of American law and the American Constitution itself is the United States Supreme Court. Nearly 220 years old, the Court has grown dramatically in stature and authority. Unlike its early predecessors, today's Court largely controls its docket, choosing the cases it will hear. Its authority to invalidate as unconstitutional actions of the legislative and executive branches now is long settled. When Chief Justice John Marshall first asserted this prerogative in 1803, he had to consider whether the fledgling Court could enforce an unpopular decision; today, Americans may disagree-and often do-volubly and with great zest, with one or another of the Court's decisions, but defying the Court is simply beyond the bounds of political, even social, legitimacy.
We present a collection of essays in this journal that explain how the Court functions. They also illustrate how it commands the respect of Americans and plays a vital role in the constitutional system. We are fortunate to feature an introduction by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and contributions by a number of the nation's premier legal scholars.
eJournal: The Supreme Court of the United States: The Highest Court in the Land
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