Photograph Collection of the Supreme Court
of the United States

The Writ of Certiorari: Deciding Which Cases to Review
Hon. Peter J. Messitte, U.S. District Judge, District of Maryland

The Supreme Court chooses most of its docket by means of the writ of certiorari; Americans from all walks of life can petition the Court for such a writ.

Arguing Brown
A Memoir by Jack Greenberg, Professor of Law, Columbia University

The legendary civil rights advocate recounts his experience arguing the landmark Brown v. Board of Education litigation before the Supreme Court.

Landmark Decisions

Capsule summaries of some of the Court's most memorable and significant cases:

• Marbury V. Madison (1803)
• Gibbons V. Ogden (1824)
• National Labor Relations Board V. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. (1937)
• Brown V. Board Of Education (1954)
• Gideon V. Wainwright (1963)
  Miranda V. Arizona (1966)
• New York Times Co. V. Sullivan (1964)

The Supreme Court Justices

Meet the nine members of the Court. They are...

• Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
• Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
• Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
• Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
• Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
• Associate Justice David Hackett Souter
• Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
• Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Working Behind the Scenes

Personal accounts by four Court officers who help the justices do their jobs: the Clerk of the Court, the Court Marshal, the Reporter of Decisions, and the Public Information Officer.

Bibliography

Internet Resources

The Bureau of International Information Programs of the U.S. Department of State publishes five electronic journals under the eJournal USA logo—Economic Perspectives, Global Issues, Issues of Democracy, Foreign Policy Agenda and Society & Values—that examine major issues facing the United States and the international community as well as U.S. society, values, thought, and institutions. Each of the five is catalogued by volume (the number of years in publication) and by number (the number of issues that appear during the year).

One new journal is published monthly in English and is followed two to four weeks later by versions in French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Selected editions also appear in Arabic and Chinese.

The opinions expressed in the journals do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government. The U.S. Department of State assumes no responsibility for the content and continued accessibility of Internet sites to which the journals link; such responsibility resides solely with the publishers of those sites. Journal articles, photographs, and illustrations may be reproduced and translated outside the United States unless they carry explicit copyright restrictions, in which case permission must be sought from the copyright holders noted in the journal.

The Bureau of International Information Programs maintains current and back issues in several electronic formats, as well as a list of upcoming journals, at http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/journals.htm. Comments are welcome at your local U.S. Embassy or at the editorial offices:

Editor, eJournal USA: Issues of Democracy
IIP/T/DHR
U.S. Department of State
301 4th St. S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20547
United States of America

E-mail: eJournalUSA@state.gov