"It is relatively
easy to describe in one or two sentences the role of the Supreme
Court of the United States in our nation's system of government,"
Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote in his book, "The Supreme
Court." 
"Congress
and the president enact laws, the president executes the laws,
and the Supreme Court decides cases arising under those laws or
under the Constitution."
A simple definition of the chief justice, perhaps, but the road
to defining the modern Supreme Court as the pinnacle of the American
justice system has been a hard-fought and controversial journey.
With its constitutional foundations in tow, the high court has
faced challenges the founding fathers could never have imagined.
But it also has safeguarded many of the traditions that have helped
keep it one of the most revered courts in the world.
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