Today's lesson focused on checks on the powers of the judiciary and the interaction of other branches of government with the judiciary . I outlined how the president checks the power of the courts through appointments and the theoretical option to not carry out the court's orders. The Senate checks the judiciary through the confirmation process, and Congress can check the judiciary through impeachment and by legislative action that can override or modify a court ruling. I provided examples of each. We then examined how cases reach the US Supreme Court through a petition for a writ of certiorari ,and how the individual justice's view of judicial activism or restraint impacts which cases the US Supreme Court agrees to hear.