[originaltext] The Constitution of the United States, the highest law of the

The Constitution of the United States,  the highest law of the land,  divides governmental  power among three  separate  and co-equal  branches:  the  executive or president, the legislative which includes both Houses of Congress and the Judicial with the Supreme Court as its head.
   Although Alexander Hamilton, one of the country’ s founders described the Federal Judiciary as "beyond comparison, the weakest of the three departments", US courts do have a variety of judicial powers vested in them by the Constitution. Rex Lee, a lawyer and former Solicitor General of the United States, says that beyond those accepted judicial powers the courts .also exercise a far more important one.
   In exercising its power of judicial review, the Supreme Court has voided or declared unconstitutional over 1,000 state laws and more than 100 federal laws. In the last 50 years, the Court has used its authority most often in defence of civil liberties.  Prior to that, judicial review was used mainly to protect property rights. Understandably the power of judicial review has been controversial. While most people defend the judiciary’s role as interpreter of constitutional law, critics charge that the Supreme Court has exceeded its intended authority and .also has played too big a role in shaping American public policy.