Supreme Court of Sanctaria
Supreme Court of Sanctaria | |
---|---|
Established | 19 November 1974 |
Jurisdiction | Sanctaria |
Location | Sanctus |
Composition method | Government nomination with Senate confirmation |
Authorized by | Constitution of Sanctaria |
Judge term length | Life tenure |
Number of positions | 9 |
Chief Justice of Sanctaria | |
Currently | Georgina Reding |
Since | 01 August 2023 |
The Supreme Court of the Divine Federation of Sanctaria, more commonly known as the Supreme Court of Sanctaria or SCOSA, is the highest court in the federal judiciary of Sanctaria, established pursuant to the Constitution of Sanctaria in 1974. It has ultimate (and largely discretionary) appellate jurisdiction over all federal and state court cases that involve a point of federal law, and original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, for example suits between two or more states. The Court also holds the power of judicial review, the power to strike down laws which are inconsistent with the constitution.
The Court consists of the Chief Justice of Sanctaria and eight associate justices, each with lifetime tenure. When a vacancy occurs, the Government of Sanctaria, with the approval of the Senate, appoints a new justice. Each justice has a single vote. It meets in Sanctus.
Establishment[edit | edit source]
The Supreme Court, and the Sanctarian court system as a whole, was formally established on 19 November 1974 under the terms of the Constitution of Sanctaria which specified that Sanctaria would become independent on the death of Patriarch of the Church of Sanctaria, Aequitas IV. Prior to independence, the Papal Congregation on Faith was responsible for meting out punishment that broke canon law, which was the law of the Papal States. As such, on independence, all existing lawyers had been trained as canon lawyers, and had to retrain in principles of constitutional, criminal, and other areas of law. The Supreme Court did not hear a case for the first time until 1977, with the initial few years used for organisation and establishing procedures and rules.
Initial judges were academics, not lawyers, and as a result all these initial judges, including those justices on appellate courts such as the Supreme Court, were required by by law to retire by 1980. Legislation passed in 1979 specified all future justices of the Supreme Court would have life tenure. Many traditions now in the Sanctarian court system stem from traditions in the Papal Congregation of Faith because of these initial crossover years, with canonically trained lawyers introducing terms and procedures they were used to in the Congregation of Faith; to date all judges and justices are still referred to as Your Grace in oral arguments, after the term of deference used in the Congregation of Faith to refer to presiding Archbishops.
Membership[edit | edit source]
The Supreme Court consists of its president called the Chief Justice, and not more than eight ordinary members, called associate justices. The Supreme Court sits en banc, or as a whole, meaning all nine members hear a case. Occasionally a justice may be ill or may recuse themselves, in these instances no replacements are sought from lower courts and the Supreme Court hears the case with a member less. The minimum number of justices that must be available to hear a case is five.
Current justices[edit | edit source]
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of Sanctaria, following nomination by the Government of Sanctaria and approval by the Senate. Members of the Supreme Court are listed below, beginning with the Chief Justice. Associate Justices are listed by length of service on the court.
Justice birth year |
Chancellor nominated by |
Alma mater | Age at | Start date / length of service | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | Present | ||||
Georgina Reding[a] b. Oct 1961 |
Chief Justice | Sanctus Academy of Law | 51 | 61 | Chief Justice |
Ringrose | August 1, 2023 261 days | ||||
Associate Justice | Associate Justice | ||||
Turner | December 1, 2012 — July 31, 2023 10 years, 242 days | ||||
Joyce Keenahan b. Aug 1945 |
Cox | Sanctus Academy of Law | 48 | 78 | February 12, 1994 30 years, 66 days |
Noreen Collins b. May 1951 |
Dawson | Sanctus Academy of Law | 52 | 72 | November 11, 2003 20 years, 159 days |
Jean-Claude Steele b. Sep 1956 |
Dawson | Nicene University | 50 | 67 | December 4, 2006 17 years, 136 days |
Richard McWilliams b. Mar 1959 |
Turner | University College Sanctus | 57 | 64 | September 15, 2010 13 years, 216 days |
Edmée Simon b. Jan 1966 |
Hendry | Sanctus Academy of Law | 56 | 57 | October 6, 2022 1 year, 195 days |
Bernadette Coolidge b. Apr 1970 |
Ringrose | University College Pontifex | 53 | 53 | September 13, 2023 218 days |
Tara Gregory b. Jan 1957 |
Ringrose | Sanctus Academy of Law | 66 | 67 | October 3, 2023 198 days |
Moon So-ra b. Jul 1966 |
Ringrose | National University of Sanctaria, Cristi | 57 | 57 | December 11, 2023 129 days |
Jurisdiction[edit | edit source]
Judicial review[edit | edit source]
Significant rulings[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Was appointed to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice by the Turner government. Served from 01 December 2012 to 31 July 2023 before being appointed as Chief Justice by the Ringrose government.