the supreme court of the united states is the highest ranking judicial body in the united states. established by article iii of the constitution, the detailed structure of the court was laid down by the 1st united states congress in 1789. congress specified the court's original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the number of justices at sixone chief justice and five associate justices. the number of justices on the supreme court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869. as a result, there have been a total of 11 seats on the court: one chief justiceship and 10 associate justiceships (two of which have been abolished).