Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
This page from the US Supreme Court's official website outlines the Court's operational framework. It details the annual term's structure, alternating between "sittings" for hearing cases and "recesses" for deliberation and opinion writing. Head here for a description of the protocols for oral argument, the court’s decision-making processes, and the Justices' continuous responsibilities.
In 1908, the Supreme Court convicted a Tennessee sheriff, his deputy, and four civilians for their role in defying the court’s execution stay two years before. The group lynched Ed Johnson—a Black man believed to be innocent who was nonetheless convicted of rape—after the court ordered him not to be executed.
This Library of Congress collection comprises early arguments for colonial rights, protests against British authority, draft constitutions, and multiple working drafts of the Declaration of Independence. It traces the ideas and language that preceded the final document adopted in 1776.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the structure of the US federal judiciary, creating a six-member Supreme Court, district courts, and circuit courts. It delineated the jurisdiction of these courts and outlined the relationship between state and federal courts. For a comprehensive explanation and the full transcript of the bill, head to this page from the National Archives.
This piece traces the Declaration’s 200-year journey from its creation in 1776 through repeated relocations, risky copying methods, light damage, fires, wartime evacuation, and shifting federal custody—long before modern archival protections existed.
Discover the National Constitution Center’s collection of landmark Supreme Court cases that shaped US history. Browse by constitutional topic to explore key rulings, their historical impact, and the legal principles they established. Each case includes a summary of the decision, along with notable excerpts from majority and dissenting opinions. Deepen your understanding of how these rulings continue to influence American law and society.
In the US, nine unelected justices can shape some of the most personal and political parts of our lives. But the Supreme Court wasn’t always this powerful. When it was first written into the Constitution, it had no clear authority, no real role, and little public respect.
Hear from experts about originalism—the view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to its original public meaning—alongside its main counter-ideology, living constitutionalism, which argues that the document’s meaning should evolve with changing social and legal norms.
First Amendment litigator and law blogger Ken White hosts this podcast exploring the background of the most important First Amendment cases in American history. Case topics include inflammatory and defamatory speech, freedom of speech for students, and more. Whether you're a legal nerd or just curious about your rights, this podcast breaks it down in an engaging and accessible way.
In over 220 years, roughly 115 people have held the office of justice on the Supreme Court. Seventeen of those were chief justices, the body’s formal leader. The first African-American justice was Thurgood Marshall in 1967, and the first woman was Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981.