should any one court be given the final word
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In any case involving the Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties with other nations, as well as in disputes between the states.
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, apex court, and highest court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are not subject to further review by any other court.
Any Article III (constitutional) court (or equivalent state court) can declare a law unconstitutional if the law is part of a case they're trying or reviewing; however, the government would probably appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court to get a definitive answer.The US Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality, and has final authority over questions of constitutionality.Article III CourtsUS District CourtsUS Court of International TradeUS Court of Appeals Circuit CourtsSupreme Court of the United States
In theory, any court can decide this, but only the decisions of the US Supreme Court are binding in regards to the US constitution (for State constitutions, the state's Supreme Court is generally the final arbiter... the US Supreme Court might rule that a particular provision in a state's constitution is not compatible with the US constitution, but usually will let the state court decide for itself in strictly internal matters.)
The US Supreme Court comprises nine justices who attempt to review every case as a complete Court. A quorum, the minimum number of justices who must participate in any given case, is six.