Q 01/05

How many justices sit on the Supreme Court of the United States?

A) Nine

B) Seven

C) Eleven

D) Twelve

Answer · why

A) Nine

Nine justices have sat on the Supreme Court since the Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the number by statute.

Q 02/05

Which 1803 case established the US Supreme Court's power of judicial review?

A) McCulloch v. Maryland

B) Marbury v. Madison

C) Gibbons v. Ogden

D) Fletcher v. Peck

Answer · why

B) Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison (1803): Chief Justice John Marshall used William Marbury's undelivered commission to establish the Court's power of judicial review...

Q 03/05

Who was the first Chief Justice of the United States, nominated by George Washington in 1789?

A) John Marshall

B) John Rutledge

C) John Jay

D) Oliver Ellsworth

Answer · why

C) John Jay

John Jay was confirmed on 26 September 1789, two days after the Judiciary Act created the Court, and served as Chief Justice until 1795.

Q 04/05

Who became the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court in 1981?

A) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

B) Sonia Sotomayor

C) Elena Kagan

D) Sandra Day O'Connor

Answer · why

D) Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor, an Arizona appeals judge nominated by Reagan, was confirmed 99-0 in September 1981 as the first woman on the Court.

Q 05/05

How many of his 32 Supreme Court civil rights cases did NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall win?

A) 29

B) 32

C) 25

D) 20

Answer · why

A) 29

Thurgood Marshall won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court for the NAACP, the biggest being Brown v. Board of Education.