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.

were decided the Court comprised these nine members: In Ableman v. Booth, 62 U.S. (21 How.)

The U.S. Supreme Court held that under the federal Constitution, federal courts hold final power to decide cases arising under the Constitution and federal statutes, and that the states do not have the power to overturn those decisions.

Ableman emphasized the dual form of American government and the independence of state and federal courts from each other.