The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court .

The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices.

The Court ruled that Fairchild, as a private citizen, lacked standing to challenge the amendment's ratification under the limitations of the Case or Controversy Clause of Article III.

[2] Fairchild marked a departure from prior doctrine, which had allowed any citizen to sue to preserve a public right.

[3] In a companion case, Leser v. Garnett, the Court upheld the ratification of the amendment.