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Extra!: Supreme Court
(CNN Student News) -- Use this explainer to help students understand the role of the judicial branch of the U.S. government and the U.S. Supreme Court, topics relevant to current news. Background Article III of the U.S. Constitution states, "The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress from time to time ordain and establish." The framers of the Constitution believed that an independent judicial branch was central to fair and equal justice for all citizens. The courts do not make laws, nor do they enforce them; those are roles reserved for the legislative and executive branches, respectively. The job of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws created and enforced by the other two branches of government. What are the components of the judicial branch? The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. The lower courts include the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts. Other state and local courts are also part of the legal system. Who serves on the Supreme Court? The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices. John Roberts serves as chief justice of the United States. The current associate justices are John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Steven G. Breyer. Justices are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. Justices are appointed for life. Changes at the Supreme Court On September 3, 2005, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died at the age of 80. On September 5, President George W. Bush nominated Judge John Roberts to succeed Rehnquist as chief justice of the United States. Roberts was originally nominated to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her retirement in July 2005. Roberts was confirmed on September 29, 2005 as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States, winning Senate approval by a wide margin, 78-22. In October 2005, President Bush nominated White House legal counsel Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor. After Miers withdrew her nomination, the president nominated Samuel Alito for the position. When does the Supreme Court meet? The term of the high court as set by law begins on the first Monday in October, and it lasts until the first Monday in October of the following year. In the course of a term, about 8,000 petitions are filed with the Supreme Court. From those petitions, the justices decide which cases the court will hear. What is "judicial review"? Judicial review is the power of the court to determine whether laws and other government actions are in agreement with the U.S. Constitution. This power is what gives the court its role as the guardian of civil liberties. If a law is passed that the court believes violates the Constitution, the law is struck down. While judicial review is not spelled out in the Constitution, it is clear that the Founding Fathers, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, expected the Supreme Court to assume this role. It is judicial review that also enables the Constitution to be a "living document," a flexible plan for government that has adapted to different situations and stresses for more than two centuries. Sources: The Federal Judiciary, The Supreme Court and CNN.com 
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