Washington (AFP) - In a stately building across from the US Capitol, the Supreme Court sits as the final arbiter on fundamental American legal matters, which can include the death penalty, minority rights, racism and electoral controversies.
Created under Article III of the Constitution, the court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices -- all of whom are appointed for life.
President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman in history to serve on the court. She still faces confirmation hearings in the Senate.
With one liberal justice replacing another, the announcement will not reshape the court's right-leaning 6-3 ideological make-up.
Justices sometimes finish their careers by resigning their post, as is the case of Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring in June.
Others serve until they die, like famously progressive Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020 at the age of 87. She was the oldest sitting justice.
The court today features three conservatives appointed by Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
Like all civil servants and US presidents, Supreme Court justices can be impeached and removed from office if found guilty of treason, corruption or other high crimes, but this has never happened.
The court held its first assembly in 1790, and justices have served for an average of about 15 years.
Some serve much longer, however. Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018, was appointed in 1987 by then president Ronald Reagan and confirmed the following year.
'Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!'
Any Supreme Court nominee must first survive a confirmation hearing by the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and then be approved by the full US Senate.
For a case to reach the Supreme Court, a petitioner has to challenge the constitutionality of a federal appeals court ruling, or in certain cases a state court ruling.
However, the justices get to decide which cases they will hear.
The court opens its annual session on the first Monday in October and sits until the end of June.
Following the coronavirus outbreak, it held hearings remotely before resuming in-person last October.
When the court is in session, the justices enter the courtroom at 10:00 am for public sessions.
At the sound of the gavel, those present arise and remain standing until the black-robed justices are seated.
The court marshal announces the start of the session with the traditional phrase: "The honorable, the chief justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!
"All persons having business before the honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the court is now sitting. God save the United States and this honorable court!"
After receiving written arguments by both sides, as well as amicus curiae ("friend of the court") testimonies from non-litigants, lawyers representing each side get just 30 minutes to argue their case, during which time the justices can ask questions.
The Supreme Court sometimes sends cases back to a lower court for re-examination and the justices can also hear urgent requests, such as an appeal to halt or postpone an impending execution.
Court rulings are approved by a majority and their opinions written up by one of the justices. The other justices can add their own comments or, if they oppose the ruling, write a dissenting opinion.
