Faces of the Bench

Nearly every president has had the opportunity to name a nominee to the United States Supreme Court. But what makes someone an ideal candidate to become a Supreme Court justice? High schoolers test their prior knowledge about the...

How can you get a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States? Learners research the way a court case ends up in the highest court in the 20th installment of a 50-part series covering the United States government and...

How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case?  The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the...

After oral arguments and the lawyers go home, what actually happens in the Supreme Court? Justice Stephen Breyer describes how members of the court discuss cases and write opinions behind the scenes. Though their discussions involve...

The Supreme Court gets all the glory, but very few federal cases make it to the highest court. An interesting lesson explores the structure of the lower levels of the federal court system. In addition to outlining the organization of...

Students have freedom of speech—or do they? Using an actual court case and research materials on the Supreme Court, young legal scholars examine the Supreme Court's role and history. Then, they argue a case the court declined to hear and...

Biographical information about Supreme Court Justise Samuel Alito. Included in this site from the Cornell Law School is a link to Justice Alito's recent court decisions.

In which we learn about the structure of the U.S. court system and how exactly it manages to keep things moving smoothly. We discuses trial courts, district courts, appeals courts, circuit courts, state supreme courts, and of course the...

An empowering resource shows an interview with Justice Day O'Connor and explains her path to the Supreme Court, as well as her personal feelings on becoming the first female to hold the position. Scholars also listen to a short...

According to Article III, Section1 of the United States constitution, the only qualification one needs to be appointed to the Supreme Court is to demonstrate "good behavior." The president and Congress are given the power to determine...