Chief Justice of the Allied States

The Chief Justice of the Allied States (also known as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) is the head of the Allied States federal court system (the judicial branch of the federal government of the Allied States) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the Allied States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices.

The Chief Justice is the highest judicial officer in the country, and acts as a chief administrative officer for the federal courts and also serves as a spokesperson for the judicial branch. The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court. He or she presides over oral arguments before the Court. When the Court renders an opinion, the Chief Justice - when in the majority - decides who writes the Court's opinion.

The Chief Justice also has significant agenda-setting power over the Court's meetings. In the case of an impeachment of the President of the Allied States, the Chief Justice presides over the trial in the legislature. The Chief Justice has the ceremonial duty of administering the oath of office of the President of the Allied States. The first and current Chief Justice of the Allied States is John Romano.

Appointment, succession and benefits
Subsection A, Section 8 of Article 3 of the Constitution of the Allied States states the President will have the power to appoint the Chief Justice as well as the other eight Associate Chief Justices:

Due to tradition, a new president will most likely not fire the current Chief Justice and appoint one more to his liking, however, they have the power to do so. Since 2009, however, the Senate will call for the President to state his reasoning for doing so, per the Supreme Court Act of 2009. Section 9 of Article 3 of the Constitution states the Chief Justice will serve up until the age of 70 from appointment. He may resign or be impeached, but has no term for election nor reappointment.

The Associate Chief Justice, who otherwise counts as a normal associate justice, becomes Acting Chief Justice should the Chief Justice become unavailable or unable to discharge his duties. Unless the Chef Justice dies or is fired by the President during this time, the Associate Chief Justice will remain Chief Justice. Senate may, however, call for the immediate appointment of a Chief Justice in these cases.

Senate decides upon the salary of the Chief Justice, as per Section 10 of the Constitution.

Duties
Along with the duties of the associate justices, the Chief Justice has several unique duties:


 * Impeachment: Although not mandated in the Constitution, the Chief Justice does chair presidential impeachment trials in Senate, along with the Presiding Senator.
 * Oath of office: Subsection A, Section 5 of Article 1 of the Constitution states the Chief Justice will administer the presidential oath of office.
 * Leader of the courts
 * Chair of constitutional review: Article 7 of the Constitution makes provision for changing the entire Constitution. The Chief Justice is to chair the committee reviewing said changes, and must approve before said change can take effect.
 * Acting President: The entire panel of SC justices become the ruling body of the Allied States after the Council of Governance is eliminated. The Chief Justice will chair the body and will himself become Acting President should he remain the sole survivor of the Supreme Court.