On this day with SHAC, congress passed The Judiciary Act of 1789. The president at the time, President George Washington, established the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices, who were to serve on the court until death or retirement. That day, John Jay was nominated to preside as chief justice, and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson to be associate justices. On September 26, the U.S. Senate confirmed all six appointments.
In comparison, the Canadian Supreme Court was established in 1867 when the British North American Act outlined the creation. The first bills created for the establishing of a federal supreme court, introduced in the Parliament of Canada in 1869 an 1870, were withdrawn. It was not until April 8, 1875, that a bill was finally passed in order to create the Supreme Court of Canada.
Canada’s Supreme Court, though it follows the same rule of seat completion, consists of nine members who are appointed to their positions by the Governor General. Recognized as the highest court in Canada, the judicial branch of government handles many cases and has struck down laws, like those surrounding sex workers and gay marriage inequality, creating major milestones in Canadian history.