Supreme Court of the United StatesJudiciary

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial tribunal in the United States and the head of the federal judiciary. Authorized under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, its mandate is to serve as the ultimate arbiter of constitutional and federal statutory law, exercise appellate jurisdiction over federal and state court decisions involving federal questions, and resolve conflicts between circuit courts of appeals. Established by the 1st United States Congress through the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789, the Court assembled for its inaugural session on February 2, 1790, in New York City with John Jay presiding as the nation's first Chief Justice, before cementing its power of judicial review in the landmark 1803 decision Marbury v. Madison.