Supreme Court
In most courts there is only one judge. In the Supreme Court there are nine judges. These nine judges are called 'justices', and together they make decisions about the cases that appear before them.
The Supreme Court meets from October till April. In May and June the justices hear no new cases, but meet to make decisions.
While all courts in the country are responsible for interpreting the laws, the Supreme Court has the last word on many important issues which affect all the people throughout the nation. It is the job of the Supreme Court justices to apply the Constitution to new situations an decide if decisions made by lower courts, by Congress, and by the president himself agree with the principles of the Constitution. That means that the Supreme Court is even more powerful than Congress as it can decide that a law passed by Congress is not legal. Several thousand cases are brought to the Supreme Court each year, but the justices choose only about 150 of them.
