About our US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) news
Latest news on the Supreme Court, also known as SCOTUS, covering the US Supreme Court, justices, landmark cases, oral arguments, emergency applications, rulings and constitutional law.
The Supreme Court of the United States, also called the U.S. Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court, is the nation's highest court and has the final say on constitutional and federal law. It has nine justices: Chief Justice John Roberts and eight associate justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate and serve for life.
Each term opens on the first Monday in October and runs into the following summer, with the most closely watched decisions often issued in June. Cases mostly reach the court by petition for certiorari, and the justices hear oral arguments before issuing majority, concurring and dissenting opinions. The court also uses its emergency docket to act quickly on urgent applications, often without full briefing.
Cases often involve presidential power, immigration, voting rights and elections, abortion, gun rights, free speech, religious liberty, the environment, business regulation and criminal justice. Decisions can shape daily life for millions of Americans and prompt debate among legal scholars, lawmakers and the public. Coverage also follows nominations, confirmation hearings, retirements and ethics rules.
Arguments take place in the neoclassical Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, and members of the public can queue to watch. Justices also speak at universities, write books and take part in public events, offering a glimpse of the people behind the rulings. The court's legitimacy, term limits, the size of the bench and ethics are recurring public debates.
Established by Article III of the Constitution and the Judiciary Act of 1789, the court asserted its power of judicial review in Marbury v Madison in 1803. The number of justices was set at nine in 1869. Landmark rulings include Brown v Board of Education, which ended segregation in public schools, and Miranda v Arizona. Former justices such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, along with Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O'Connor, left a lasting mark on American law.
Our ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Supreme Court feed brings together the latest rulings, oral arguments, nominations, SCOTUS analysis and news on the justices from across the political spectrum, giving you one up-to-date source for America's highest court.