By Nathan Hall and Lee White
             Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
             The Supreme Court of The United States is the court that heads the judicial branch of the American government. It is undoubtedly the world's most powerful court system. The court's unusual authority comes from its dual legal and political roles, for it is the nation's highest appellate law court and at the same time the official interpreter and expounder of the U. S. Constitution. Because many of the most important decisions of the Constitution are extremely broad and offer much room for difference of opinion, the court's influence in the political development of the American republic has been very great, often exceeding that of the president or Congress.
             The Supreme Court was created directly by Article III of the Constitution and entrusted with "judicial Power of the United States." It is head by the chief justice of the United States who in ceremonies of state in the third-ranking official, after the president and vice president. He presides over the court in its public sessions and its private conferences and, acting through the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts and the Judicial Conference directs the administration of the federal judicial system.
             The number of judges on the court is fixed by Congress, not by the Constitution. The Supreme Court was originally composed of six members, but was subsequently both increased and reduced by Congress. Since 1869 the size of the court has remained fixed at nine members. Justices of the Supreme Court and all other federal judges are appointed by the president, by an with advice and consent of the Senate. They serve "during good behavior."
             The function of the Supreme Court, according to the U. S. Constitution, is to decide cases and controversies. The cases it hears come to it in three ways. First, the Constitution defines two classes of cases that are in court's origina...