THE POLITICAL PROCESS BY WHICH JUDGES AND JUSTICES ARE SELECTED AND CONFIRMED AND SOME OF THE SURPRISES THESE MEN HAVE DEALT THE EXECUTIVES WHO SELECTED THEM ARE DESCRIBED. DISCUSSION FOCUSES ON THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE UNIQUE AMERICAN CONTRIBUTION TO LEGAL THEORY, THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND ITS CONCEPT THAT COURTS HAVE THE POWER TO DECLARE A LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL. HISTORICALLY, THE SUPREME COURT HAS DECLARED ONLY 104 ACTS OF CONGRESS INVALID, ALTHOUGH SOME 40,000 PUBLIC LAWS HAVE BEEN ENACTED. A CLOSE LOOK IS GIVEN TO THE COURT OVER THE 9-YEAR PERIOD EXAMINED CONCERNING ITS DECISIONS AND CHANGES OF MEMBERSHIP. ALSO ANALYZED ARE THE PROBLEM OF THE JUDICIAL WORKLOAD, THE HISTORY AND CURRENT STATUS OF THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM, AND THE DILEMMA OF PROVIDING ACCESS FOR THE AVERAGE CITIZEN TO LEGAL SERVICES. MATERIAL ON THE SUPREME COURT CONTAINED IN THE FIRST EDITION IS INCLUDED ALONG WITH NEW AND UPDATED COVERAGE OF RECENT COURT ACTION AS INITIALLY REPORTED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY WEEKLY REPORT. THE APPENDIX INCLUDES LISTS OF SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS SINCE 1798, ACTS OF CONGRESS DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL DURING THE COURT'S HISTORY, ALL FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS DURING 1969-1976, AND BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL JUSTICES SITTING ON THE COURT DURING THAT PERIOD, AS WELL AS EXCERPTS FROM FOUR KEY SUPREME COURT DECISIONS. A SUBJECT AND CASE INDEX ARE INCLUDED AND PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATE THE TEXT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--MJW).