Fabula

Supreme Court of the United States

Description

Nation’s highest federal appellate court (SCOTUS); issues final, nationwide precedent on constitutional and federal-law questions and does not function as a trial court.

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

1 events
S2E7 · The Portland Trip
Josh and Skinner Clash on Marriage Act's Moral and Political Fault Lines

Josh invokes Lawrence Tribe's 14th Amendment critique and five-justice potential; Skinner dismisses it outright, betting on the Supreme Court upholding the discriminatory law, elevating it as the decisive constitutional battleground in their Marriage Recognition Act standoff.

Active Representation

Predicted through justices' anticipated ruling

Power Dynamics

Looms as unassailable arbiter above political fray

Institutional Impact

Shadows legislative math with Equal Protection uncertainty

Internal Dynamics

Ideological divide between conservative majority and liberal dissenters

Organizational Goals
Adjudicate Equal Protection challenges to marriage statutes Uphold precedents favoring traditional definitions
Influence Mechanisms
Strict constitutional interpretation Justice composition leverage

Related Events

Events mentioning this organization

30 events
S1E7
Midnight Ultimatum: Bartlet Threatens to Nationalize the Truckers

In the Roosevelt Room President Jed Bartlet abruptly cuts off an economic briefing and announces he will nationalize the trucking industry at 12:01 a.m., invoking …

S1E9
Nomination Sealed — Triumph Crashes Down

The White House erupts as Josh finally secures the president's Supreme Court pick: Peyton Cabot Harrison III. A fevered wave of phone calls, chest bumps …

S1E9
Toby Takes Charge — Nomination Sealed, Omen Falls

The senior staff erupts after sealing a Supreme Court pick — a triumphant, tightly choreographed victory that immediately flips into execution. Toby asserts command of …

S1E9
Ceiling Collapse — An Omen for a Fragile Confirmation

A buoyant early-morning victory celebration in Josh's office — phone calls, high-fives, and triumphant 'We did it!'s — is abruptly undercut by a persistent, ignored …

S1E9
The Gambit Fails — C.J. Holds the Line

On the Supreme Court steps, Danny attempts a flirtatious conversational gambit to pry a confirmation out of C.J. about Peyton Harrison. C.J. immediately sees the …

S1E9
Deflection on the Supreme Court Steps

Outside the Supreme Court C.J. paces while Danny flirts and probes, trying to draw her into whether Justice Crouch is furious about the President’s apparent …

S1E9
Court Steps: Press Lines and Private Tensions

Outside the Supreme Court C.J. and Danny trade light, flirtatious banter while the literal and political principals descend the steps. C.J. deflects probing questions about …

S1E9
Bartlet Interrupts Budget Briefing to Demand Mendoza

During a late-night budget meeting Leo is calmly triangulating fiscal numbers when President Bartlet unexpectedly enters, clears the room, and halts the session. By ordering …

S1E9
Merit, Risk, and the Mendoza Gamble

In Josh's office Mandy and Josh have a terse, ideologically charged argument about Roberto Mendoza's suitability as a Supreme Court nominee. Mandy voices hard-nosed political …

S1E9
Leo's Warning — Bartlet's Vow

Leo drags Bartlet out of Mendoza's interview to deliver a compact, dangerous report: Congressman Lillienfield may have discovered something that could blow up the Supreme …

S1E9
Bartlet Names Mendoza — Let the Good Fight Begin

In the Oval, after a tense vetting exchange that crystallizes Mendoza's constitutional instincts, President Bartlet formally announces Judge Roberto Mendoza as his Supreme Court nominee. …

S1E9
Mendoza Draws the Line on Warrantless Drug Orders

In a compact, charged Oval Office scene Toby needles Judge Mendoza with a hypothetical about a presidential order to force drug tests. Mendoza answers crisply …

S1E9
Public Presentation: Judge Roberto Mendoza Takes the West Wing

President Bartlet formally introduces Judge Roberto Mendoza to the assembled West Wing in a staged, ceremonial moment designed to project unity and build momentum for …

S1E14
Gavel Falls — Stay Denied; Execution Scheduled

In the hushed Supreme Court chamber a Justice reads the opinion: the stay is denied, certiorari refused, and the petitioner is formally scheduled for execution …

S1E14
Sabbath Deadline — Execution Pushed to Monday

In a terse hallway exchange, Sam returns with catastrophic news: the Supreme Court denied Simon Cruz's final appeal. The expected legal reprieve never comes, and …

S1E14
Sermon on Vengeance — The Call That Breaks Sabbath

Sam deliberately calls Toby while he is in synagogue to plant the moral language the administration will need. As the rabbi preaches that vengeance is …

S1E14
Appeal Denied — Sabbath Interrupted

While Toby sits in synagogue listening to his rabbi sermonize against vengeance, Sam cold-calls with urgent news: the Supreme Court has denied the appeal. The …

S1E14
Joey Lucas Accuses a Disheveled Josh — A Comedic Confrontation Turns Political

Joey Lucas bursts into Josh Lyman's office — signing while her aide Kenny translates — demanding to know why the DNC is choking off funds …

S1E14
Embarrassment to Emergency: Donna Delivers the Denial

Joey Lucas and her translator burst into Josh's office, turning a comic, humiliating tableau—Josh in undershirt and hip-waders—into a brusque professional confrontation that exposes his …

S1E14
The Execution Lands on the President's Desk

Leo briefs Bartlet that the Supreme Court has denied the final appeal and the federal death sentence for Simon Cruz is now a White House …

S1E14
Bartlet Tests Vengeance

As Leo briefs a dressing President Bartlet on a condemned federal inmate whose Supreme Court appeal failed, the issue abruptly shifts from legal technicalities to …

S1E15
HUD Spokesman Confirms — Josh Forced to Escalate

In a single, grim line delivered from the lecture platform, Josh announces that HUD spokesman Donald Morales has reluctantly confirmed the incident — turning what …

S1E15
Framing Mendoza: Stakes, Strategy, and Toby's Burden

Josh frames Judge Roberto Mendoza's Supreme Court confirmation as both a political imperative and a test of staff competence. Speaking to the room, he explains …

S1E15
Oval Office Damage Control — Bartlet Reams Josh

President Bartlet, exhausted and terse, assembles his senior staff to confront a spiraling news cycle. Josh admits, sheepish and culpable, that he provoked a story …

S2E3
Toby's Disclosure Gambit Ignites Constitutional Firestorm

In Josh's bullpen, trauma-fueled Toby pitches Step 3: public disclosure of hate groups' memberships and funding to expose threats post-assassination attempt, framing it as urgent …

S2E5
Bartlet's Radio Voiceover Honors Trailblazing Lawyer Belva Lockwood

Over an serene exterior morning shot of the White House, President Bartlet's voiceover delivers a poignant radio address segment spotlighting Belva Lockwood, the first woman …

S2E7
Josh and Skinner Clash on Marriage Act's Moral and Political Fault Lines

In a charged hallway exchange escalating into Josh's office, Josh hammers Skinner with polling data favoring gay spousal benefits and a strict 14th Amendment reading …

S3E6
Sam Interrupts NEA Clash to Unveil Buckley v. Valeo Loophole

Amid Toby's mounting frustration as Tawny cites obscene NEA-funded art like Lisa Mulberry's genitalia exhibit, Sam abruptly interrupts, greeting with a casual 'Hi' before pulling …

S3E19
Bartlet Defies Bunker Evacuation Amid Escalating Terror Intel

In the Oval Office portico, President Bartlet receives urgent briefing from Leo, Fitzwallace, and advisors: FBI traces Bahji comms to Khaled Madani (aka Abdul Al-Yossi) …

S4E3
Sullivan Ruling: Legal Shock, Political Manoeuvre

A District Court decision striking down the Commission on Presidential Debates' 15% rule jolts the Roosevelt Room into emergency mode. C.J. reads the scathing opinion; …