The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the validity of state laws under the state constitution. It has the sole authority to prescribe and amend court rules and regulate the practice of law, and it is the arbiter and overseer of the decennial legislative redistricting. One of its former members, William J. Brennan Jr., became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776. As currently constituted, the court replaced the prior New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals, which had been the highest court created under the Constitution of 1844. Now, the Supreme Court hears appeals from the Appellate Division and, on rare occasions, other cases from within the judicial and administrative system directly, by order of the Court. Previous compositions Until the Constitution of 1947, the Supreme Court was an intermediate court. Under the two previous New Jersey state constitutions (1776 and 1844), the phrase "Supreme Court" referred to a lower court, similar to the New York Supreme Court. Both the "supreme court" and the actual highest court were composed in a radically different manner from that of the current supreme court or its inferior courts. Under the 1776 constitution Under the colonial constitution of 1776, the upper house of the legislature (which was styled the Legislative Council) along with the governor was to be "the Court of Appeals", defined as the court of last resort, similar to the Law Lords of Great Britain. A separate "Supreme Court" was also mentioned, but no indication of its duties was given, only term limits of its judges (7 years). As time progressed and political philosophies changed, people took issue with numerous parts of the original constitution: It was hastily thrown together, used property qualifications for enfranchisement, contained scant guarantees of freedoms, was unamendable, and freely intermingled the three branches of government. Jurisdiction Under the current (1947 and amended) constitution, the highest court in the state is the Supreme Court. It does not have original jurisdiction; instead, it hears appeals, oversees the state's court system, and regulates the legal profession within the