The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial institution in the U.S. federal court system and the final expositor of the U.S. Constitution. Its creation was mandated by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to establish a national judiciary, and it was formally organized by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Court first convened on February 2, 1790.
The Court's legal foundation is Article III, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which vests the judicial power of the United States in "one supreme Court." Its jurisdiction is defined in Article III, Section 2, granting it original jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors or states, and appellate jurisdiction over nearly all other cases concerning federal or constitutional law. Justices, who currently number nine (one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices), hold their offices during "good behaviour," which grants them lifetime tenure to ensure judicial independence. The number of justices has been fixed at nine since 1869.
The most significant concept connected to the Court is judicial review, the power to declare a legislative or executive act unconstitutional. This power is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but was established in the landmark judgment Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803). The Court ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because Congress cannot pass laws contrary to the Constitution, and it is the judiciary's role to interpret the Constitution. The Court's rulings often interpret key constitutional provisions, such as the Fourteenth Amendment, which has been central to applying civil rights and liberties to the states. There have been no recent amendments to the Court's structure or key constitutional provisions.