The Supreme Court is the most powerful court of justice of the United States. It is considered to be the guardian of the Constitution and has a responsibility to assure individual rights and to maintain a “living Constitution”. This res¬ponsibility is supported by the power of judicial review. The court has power to tell the President if his actions are not in accordance with the Constitution. It also has a power to tell about a new law which violates the U.S. Constitution and cannot be a law. It can also tell the government of a state if one of its laws breaks a rule in the Constitution. The Supreme Court presides the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch helps in. maintaining balance of federal power with the legislative branch who formulate the laws (Congress) and the executive branch (headed by the President).
However, the power of Supreme Court is limited by the other two branches of government. The President proposes justice to the court. The approval of the nominations should be supported by Senate. The Congress also has great power over the lower courts and district and appeals courts are created by Congress and can be abolished at will of Congress. The Supreme Court mainly acts like a referee on a football field and the President, the Congress, the state police and other officials are the actual players. Some has power to pass laws and some to enforce laws, as directed by Constitution. However, Supreme Court acts as a “referee”, points out when government officials step out-of-bounds.
