The U.S. Supreme Court was established in 1789 through the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Article III of the Constitution, ratified in 1788, provided that the federal judicial power would belong to one Supreme Court and to lower courts that Congress created. It did not specify the Court’s size, detailed organization, or operating procedures, leaving those decisions to Congress.
On September 24, 1789, Congress passed the Judiciary Act, and President George Washington signed it. The law created the federal court system, including a Supreme Court with one chief justice and five associate justices. The Court was organized in 1790 and held its first session in New York City on February 2 of that year.
The nearby dates explain a common quiz mistake: 1789 is the establishment year, while 1790 marks the Court’s organization and first meeting. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, and 1803 is associated with Marbury v. Madison, the landmark judicial-review decision.