Judicial Branch

The Executive and Legislative branches are elected by the people, members of the Judicial Branch are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The number of Supreme Court Justices is left to Congress at times there have been as few as six, while the current number nine, with one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices has only been in place since 1869. The Constitution also grants Congress the power to establish courts below to the Supreme Court, and to that end Congress has established the United States district courts, which try most federal cases, and 13 United States courts of appeals, which review appealed district court cases. Federal judges can only be removed through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction in the Senate. Judges and justices serve no fixed term they serve until their death, retirement, or conviction by the Senate. By design, this insulates them from the mood swings of the public, and allows them to apply the law with only justice in mind, and not electoral or political concerns.