WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the US Constitution as it applies to many of America's most burning social issues.
Here are some pertinent facts about the top US court:
Created in 1789 under Article III of the US Constitution, the court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices - all of whom are appointed for life.
In the cavernous building across from the US Capitol, the Supreme Court often has the last word on critical issues such as abortion, minority and gay marriage rights, racism, the death penalty and electoral controversies.
There are currently only eight justices serving on the bench, evenly split between liberals and conservatives, following the sudden death of stalwart conservative Antonin Scalia in February 2016.
If the justices are unable to break a stalemate and rule 4-4 on any issue, the lower court ruling stands.
Republican President Donald Trump is set to announce his nominee to fill the ninth seat on Tuesday (Jan 31).
Former Democratic president Barack Obama tried to fill the vacancy with Merrick Garland, an appellate court judge, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider the nomination.
Justices sometimes finish their careers by resigning their posts, while others serve on the court until they die. They can retire from age 70, but rarely do so. The eldest currently sitting justice is 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Like all civil servants and US presidents, Supreme Court justices can be impeached and removed from office if found guilty of treason, corruption or other high crimes. This has yet to happen, however.
The eight associate justices earn the same salary, while the chief justice is paid slightly more. As of January 2016, the chief justice earned US$260,700 (S$367,062) a year, while the associate justices were paid US$249,300, according to the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Since the court was established, a new appointee has been named by the US president roughly every two years, and justices have served on the court for an average of about 15 years.
Some serve much longer however: Anthony Kennedy, the court's 79-year-old key swing vote, was appointed in 1987 by president Ronald Reagan and confirmed the following year.
Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by president Bill Clinton.
