The U.S. Supreme Court held its first session in 1790, beginning the work of the nation’s highest federal court.
The Court was created under Article III of the Constitution, but Congress supplied its operating framework through the Judiciary Act of 1789. The first justices were appointed by President George Washington, and the Court organized in New York City, then the national capital.
Historical accounts distinguish between the Court’s first assembly on February 1, 1790, and its first formal session on February 2. That difference affects the exact date, not the year. The early meeting was largely organizational, and the justices did not immediately begin issuing major constitutional rulings.
Another common mix-up is 1789, the year of the Judiciary Act, or 1801, when John Marshall became chief justice and the Court entered a more influential era. The Court’s first opinion came later, in 1791, in West v. Barnes.