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Law and justice

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Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the state's court of last resort and the oldest appellate court in the United States, dating to 1684 and permanent from 1722. Seven justices serve ten-year terms won in partisan elections, then face yes-or-no retention votes until mandatory retirement at 75.

Supreme Court of Queensland

The Supreme Court of Queensland, also called the Queensland Supreme Court, is the state's superior court of record, with a Trial Division and Court of Appeal, four regional judges, and jurisdiction over serious criminal and civil matters.

Supreme Court of Texas

Supreme Court of Texas: the state's court of last resort for civil matters, nine justices (chief justice plus eight) elected to staggered six-year terms in Austin; distinct from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Supreme Court of the Gold Coast

The Supreme Court of the Gold Coast was the principal British colonial court of the Gold Coast, established in 1876 and lasting until Ghana's independence in 1957.

Supreme Court of the Philippines

The Supreme Court of the Philippines (Korte Suprema) is the highest court, composed of a Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices appointed by the President from Judicial and Bar Council lists, holding office until age 70, with expanded judicial review under the 1987 Constitution.

Supreme Court of the Republic of China (最高法院)

The Supreme Court of the Republic of China (最高法院) is Taiwan's final civil and criminal appellate court in Taipei, reviewing law only, with Grand Chamber panels since 2019 unifying legal interpretations after abolishing precedents and resolutions.

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (UKSC), the UK's highest appeal court since October 2009 under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, replacing the House of Lords' Appellate Committee; 12 Justices sit at the Middlesex Guildhall, hearing civil appeals UK-wide, criminal appeals from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and devolution issues.

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States, shaped by the Judiciary Act of 1789 and first assembled in 1790, is the highest U.S. court: nine life-tenured Justices, in its own building since 1935, now at record-low public approval.

Supreme Court of the United States customs and traditions

The customs and traditions of the US Supreme Court are the rituals shaping how the nine Justices work, including the daily handshake, black robes, two oaths, and secret conferences.

Supreme Court of the United States moves into its own building (1935)

The Supreme Court of the United States moved into its own building in 1935, ending more than a century of meeting inside the Capitol, a campaign led by Chief Justice Taft.

Supreme Court of the United States term opinions before 1990

The Supreme Court of the United States term opinions before 1990 records the Court's written opinions through October Term 1989, published in the United States Reports.

Supreme Court of the United States under Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth (1790–1801)

The Supreme Court of the United States under Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth was the Court's first decade, from 1790 to 1801, deciding about sixty cases and provoking the Eleventh Amendment.

Supreme Court of Victoria

The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria, with Trial Division and Court of Appeal; only the High Court of Australia can review its decisions.

Supreme Court Police

Supreme Court Police (SCUSPD), the U.S. Supreme Court's own police force at 1 First Street NE, Washington, DC; under 40 U.S.C. §6121 it polices the Court building and grounds and protects the Justices anywhere.

Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Costa Rica

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, TSE) is Costa Rica's autonomous electoral authority, created by the 1949 Constitution to run elections and judge disputes.

Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala

Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala (Tribunal Supremo Electoral, TSE), independent maximum electoral authority created 23 March 1983 by Decree 30-83; five titular and five alternate magistrates elected by Congress; organized 14 electoral processes; VIII Magistratura 2026-2032.

Supreme Federal Court

The Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal, STF) is Brazil's apex court and guardian of the Constitution: created in 1891, reduced from 15 to 11 justices in 1931, hybrid judicial review, currently led by Edson Fachin amid a 2026 internal crisis.

Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal

Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (Iraqi Special Tribunal, then Iraqi High Tribunal): special Iraqi court created by CPA Order 48 in December 2003, renamed under Law No. 10 of 2005, trying genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed 1968–2003, notably the Dujail and Anfal trials.

Supreme Legal Committee in Suwayda

Supreme Legal Committee in Suwayda (اللجنة القانونية العليا في السويداء), a de facto Druze administrative body formed August 2025 under Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri after the July offensive; dissolved 7 April 2026, replaced by the Crisis Management Council.

Supreme Team (gang)

Supreme Team, Queens, New York street gang founded 1981 by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff in Baisley Park Houses, South Jamaica; Five Percenter roots, $200,000-a-day 1987 peak, led later by Gerald "Prince" Miller, ended in federal RICO life sentences.

Surendra Kumar Sinha

Surendra Kumar Sinha, 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh (2015-2017), first non-Muslim and Hindu chief justice; struck down the 16th Amendment, resigned in exile, later convicted of money laundering.

Sureños

Sureños (Sur 13), Southern California-origin alliance of Mexican-American street gangs subordinate to the Mexican Mafia prison gang; blue, number 13; hundreds of cliques across the US and El Salvador.

Surety

A surety is a person or entity that assumes direct liability for another's obligation; suretyship, involving creditor, principal debtor, and surety, appears in surety bonds guaranteeing agreements are honored.

Surrey Six massacre

Surrey Six massacre: October 19, 2007 shooting of six men, four gang-affiliated and two bystanders, in a Balmoral Tower apartment in Surrey, BC, tied to the Red Scorpions-UN gang conflict; convictions ran from 2009 to 2020.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy (代孕) is an arrangement in which a woman carries a child for intended parents. Legal status varies worldwide: commercial surrogacy legal in parts of the US, Georgia, Colombia; altruistic-only in Canada, UK, India; banned entirely in China, France, Germany, Italy.

Surrogacy laws by country

Surrogacy laws by country: national rules on whether surrogacy is banned, altruistic-only, or commercial. No international treaty governs cross-border recognition; ECtHR Mennesson case law, HCCH project, and differing US, Italian, Greek, UK rules.

Susan Atkins

Susan Denise Atkins (1948-2009), "Sadie Mae Glutz" in Charles Manson's Family, took part in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders including Sharon Tate's killing, was sentenced to death in 1971 (commuted to life), and died of brain cancer after 38 years in prison.

Susan C. Bucklew

Susan C. Bucklew, born in 1942 in Tampa, Florida, is a United States district judge for the Middle District of Florida, appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993.

Susan D. Wigenton

Susan D. Wigenton is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge for the District of New Jersey since 2006, appointed by President George W. Bush.

Susan Graber

Susan Graber, born 1949, is a senior US circuit judge on the Ninth Circuit appointed by Clinton in 1998, after serving on Oregon's Supreme Court.