Question 6 - Reading Practice Test for the AHIEE

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest and most important court in the nation. Established in 1789, the Supreme Court is a panel of nine judges. They hear cases from all over the country. In April of 2022, history was made when Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court and her nomination was approved by the Senate. She is the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

For almost 200 years, the judges serving on the Court were white men. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Court. He was the first person of color to join the Court. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor, a white woman, to the Supreme Court. Of the 116 Supreme Court Justices, only six have been women.

The job of Supreme Court Justice is a lifetime appointment. This means that the judges remain on the panel until they resign, retire, or die. When there is an open spot on the Court, the current President usually nominates a replacement. That person must then be approved by the Senate before they can start work as a Supreme Court Justice. The Chief Justice is the judge in charge of the other eight judges. Sandra Day O’Connor has been the only woman to serve as Chief Justice.