Definition

1. Noun:
   • The highest court in a judicial system: The "Supreme Court" is the court of final appeal and the highest legal authority within a specific jurisdiction. Its decisions are binding on all lower courts.
   • The highest federal court in the United States: Specifically, the "Supreme Court" (often capitalized) refers to the highest court in the United States federal judiciary, established by the U.S. Constitution.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The state's supreme court overturned the lower court's ruling.
  • The case was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court has nine justices.

Advanced Usage

• "to take a case to the Supreme Court": to appeal a legal decision to the highest judicial authority for a final ruling.
  • The defense lawyers decided to take the case to the Supreme Court.
• "a Supreme Court decision/ruling": a final judgment issued by the highest court.
  • The Supreme Court decision set a new legal precedent.

Variants and Related Words

• Supreme Court Justice (n): a judge who serves on a supreme court, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • She was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice.
• High court (n): a general term for a court of high authority, often used synonymously with "supreme court" in some jurisdictions.
  • The matter was settled in the high court.

Synonyms

• Court of last resort: A court, typically the highest court, from which no further appeal is possible.
• Highest court: A direct descriptive synonym.

Related Phrases

• Supreme Court bench: Refers collectively to the justices of the Supreme Court.
  • The new law will likely be reviewed by the Supreme Court bench.
• Landmark Supreme Court case: A case decided by the Supreme Court that establishes a new and important legal principle or interpretation.
  • Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark Supreme Court case.

Noun

1. the highest court in most states of the United States
2. the highest federal court in the United States; has final appellate jurisdiction and has jurisdiction over all other courts in the nation