Interesting Facts about the US Supreme Court
Only one US Supreme Court Justice has faced impeachment
The US Supreme Court is all over the news days because of five blockbuster rulings in under two weeks. I think that’s a record.
The blockbusters are West Virginia v. EPA which limits the federal government’s power to limit carbon emissions to fight global warming, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, and Carson v. Makin. I think these cases rewrite American law and could change our society.
Hence, the US Supreme Court has the power to rewrite the Constitution and change the way we live. So what is this institution and how did it develop?
To help you understand the US Supreme Court and its power, I will offer some interesting facts about the Court and its history. Some of these facts are surprising and confusing.
Interesting Facts about the US Supreme Court
1. The US Supreme Court is the world’s oldest Supreme Court. It first went into session on 1 February 1790.
2. The US Supreme Court first met at the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City (today’s lower Manhattan). To explain, New York was the Capitol of the United States in 1790.
3. The US Constitution says little about the Supreme Court:
Article III Section 1 of the Constitution states: “The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.”
4. The Constitution does not say who appoints US Supreme Court Justices
Traditionally, the President nominates Supreme Court Justices whom the US Senate approves. However, under Article III Section 1 of the Constitution. Both Houses of Congress could appoint new Supreme Court Justices with or without the president’s input. The elaborate Supreme Court nomination process you see on TV is not constitutional. It is just political theater.
5. Only one US Supreme Court Justice has faced impeachment
The US House of Representatives voted to impeach Justice Samuel Chase on 12 March 1804. However, Republicans could not get enough votes to impeach Chase in the US Senate on 1 March 1805. Consequently, Chase stayed on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.
6. There is no set number of US Supreme Court Justices
Instead, Congress determines how many justices serve on the US Supreme Court. Between 1790 and 1869, the number of Supreme Court justices varied from six to 10. However, the number of Supreme Court Justices has been nine since 1869. One President, Franklin D. Roosevelt (D-New York), proposed packing the US Supreme Court, adding additional Justices to change its rulings in 1937. FDR proposed adding one additional justice for every justice over age 70 years and six months who had served for over 10 years. FDR’s court packing scheme died in the face of popular outrage.
7. The US Supreme Court is smaller than foreign high courts
For example, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has 12 Justices and the Supreme Court of India has 32 Justices.
8. US Supreme Court Justices serve for life
There is no retirement age for US Supreme Court Justices. Instead, they serve until they die or decide to retire. Notably, two US Supreme Court Justices, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died on the bench in the last six years. In contrast, Indian Supreme Court Justices serve a set term which is listed on that body’s website.
9. The US Supreme Court did not have its own building until 1935
Instead, the Court met whatever space the federal government could find for it. For example, the Court met in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Hall. When the federal government moved to Washington, DC, the court met at the Capitol.
After British troops burned the Capitol during the War of 1812, the Supreme Court met at a private home. The longest home the Supreme Court had before its building opened was the Old Senate Chamber in the US Capitol, where it met from 1860 to 1935. Construction on the US Supreme Court Building began in 1932. Interestingly, the US Supreme Court budding came in $94,000 under budget.
10. Only one US Supreme Court Justice ran for President
Justice Charles Evans Hughes (R-New York), a famous lawyer and progressive, left the Supreme Court to accept the Republican presidential nomination in 1916. Hughes lost the election. Hughes went onto serve as Chief Justice of the United States between 1930 and 1941.
11. Only one US President Served on the US Supreme Court
President Warren G. Harding (R-Ohio) appointed former President William Howard Taft (R-Ohio) Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court in 1921. Taft as president between 1909 and 1913.
12. There is no appeal from the US Supreme Court
If the Supreme Court rules against you, you’re sunk. Nobody, not even the International Court of Justice or World Court at the Hague, can overrule the US Supreme Court. If you want to change a US Court Ruling, you have to convince the President and Congress to appoint new US Supreme Court Justices or Amend the US Constitution.
So yes, there is a lot you do not know about the US Supreme Court. This unique institution has many strange attributes and an odd history.