The Supreme Court term runs from October to June

The 2025-26 Supreme Court docket is poised to reshape presidential power

As the Supreme Court begins a new term, several major cases could define the scope of presidential authority. The court may rule on President Trump's efforts to control state National Guard units, fire independent officials, impose tariffs, and cut congressionally mandated federal spending.

Meet the 9 justices currently serving on the US Supreme Court

This resource profiles each sitting justice, detailing their legal backgrounds and career paths, and offers audio clips from oral arguments that reveal how they reason and speak from the bench.

Watch scholars debate Supreme Court term limits

In a debate from 2017, legal scholars from across the political spectrum spar over whether justices should serve fixed terms. The discussion highlights bipartisan concerns about judicial independence, accountability, and the risks of lifetime tenure.

Explore the most impactful Supreme Court cases in 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.

See how a US Supreme Court justice is nominated and confirmed

A president nominates a Supreme Court justice, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts public hearings and background vetting, and the full Senate debates and votes on confirmation—a process explained step by step in this video.

State supreme court justices almost never serve for life

Unlike US Supreme Court justices, 99% of state supreme court justices face term limits, reselection, or mandatory retirement ages. Since 1970, they've averaged 13 years on the bench—half the tenure of their federal counterparts.

The Supreme Court blocked states from setting term limits for Congress

In US Term Limits v. Thornton (1995), the Supreme Court struck down state laws that tried to impose term limits on their congressional delegations. The court ruled such restrictions unconstitutional unless added through a federal amendment.

The solicitor general argues the federal government's cases before the Supreme Court

Sometimes called the "10th justice," the solicitor general is the DOJ official responsible for representing the United States before the Supreme Court—deciding which cases the government will appeal, filing briefs, and arguing on behalf of federal interests.

Read SCOTUSblog for daily, nonpartisan coverage of the US Supreme Court

Founded in 2002, SCOTUSblog offers expert analysis from lawyers, professors, and journalists. The blog provides transparent, unbiased explanations of significant cases, real-time updates on decisions, and insights into court nominations and trends.

Courts referee federalism disputes between Congress and the states

Modern federalism is primarily worked out through litigation. The Supreme Court decides disputes in written opinions that explain when federal law preempts state authority, how far Congress's powers extend, and when states may resist.

Photography and video are prohibited in the Supreme Court—but artists are not

Because cameras are banned inside the Supreme Court of the United States, courtroom artists document proceedings through sketches. This exhibition features works from 1964 to today, capturing the human drama of landmark cases and shaping how Americans visualize justice.

Congress meets and legislates in the US Capitol building

The United States Capitol reflects neoclassical ideals drawn from ancient Greece and Rome. First opened to Congress in 1800 and repeatedly expanded over time, it remains the symbolic and functional home of both The House and The Senate.

The opera based on the friendship of US Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and Scalia

Former US Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia had a friendship that fascinated the country. The unsuspecting bond formed between people on two opposing ends of the political spectrum even inspired an opera titled “Scalia/Ginsburg” by composer Derrick Wang.

The federal budget process begins nearly a year before funds are spent

Creating the federal budget starts months in advance. This resource explains each stage, showing how the president proposes priorities, Congress reshapes and approves funding, and federal agencies implement the final budget.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the foundation of the federal justice system

Passed by the First Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal court system, the Office of the Attorney General, and the US Marshals Service—the first law concerning national law enforcement and legal administration.

Why meteorologists say summer starts June 1

There are at least two periods called summer: astronomical and meteorological. Astronomical summer mirrors the movement of celestial bodies and begins roughly around June 20, with the summer solstice. Meteorologists designate the beginning of June as the start of summer to make tracking weather patterns from year to year easier.

In 2018, the Supreme Court sided with American Express in a case that significantly changed antitrust regulation.

The US Department of Justice sued Visa, Mastercard, and American Express in 2010 over alleged anticompetitive contracts with merchants. While Visa and Mastercard settled out of court, American Express went to trial and had its case taken all the way up to the Supreme Court—which ruled that both sides of a transaction business must be analyzed to determine a monopoly.

Not all speech in the United States is protected

This page explains the categories of speech—including defamation, incitement, true threats, fraud, and obscenity—the Supreme Court has placed outside First Amendment protection and how courts determine which standard to apply when speech is challenged.

How the S&P 500 performed in the first 100 days of each modern US presidential term

The S&P 500 was up 5.3% during President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office during his first term as president, and down 7.1% during the first 100 days of his second term.

Modern presidential primaries now span months before conventions formalize nominees

In 2020, the major parties selected nominees through 64 primary and caucus contests held over 22 days. Until the 1960s, most nominees were chosen by party leaders at conventions rather than through widespread primaries.

'What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through.'

- First African American Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)

Marshall was briefly secretary of state and chief justice at the same time

Appointed secretary of state by John Adams in 1800, Marshall oversaw foreign policy during disputes with France, Britain, and Spain, including support for the Convention of 1800. For about a month in early 1801, he served as both secretary of state and chief justice.

Brush up on your bankruptcy vocab

The technical term for what happens when a court removes a debtor’s obligation to repay money owed is “discharge.” An “automatic stay” is what goes into place once a filing occurs to prevent a debtor from facing lawsuits, evictions, and other negative consequences until the process wraps up.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

A credit card’s grace period is a minimum of 21 days

Under federal law in the United States, an individual’s credit card payment due date must fall on the same day of each month, at least 21 days after the cardholder’s statement closing date.

Experience a year inside an American courthouse with 'Serial' Season 3

Season Three of "Serial" immerses listeners in a Cleveland courthouse for a year, showcasing how everyday justice unfolds—through plea deals, judicial decisions, and the quiet mechanics behind daily life in the criminal justice system.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.