DATA A DAY: The Court, en banc

YOU HAVE probably heard that phrase so many times in the news that it already rings with familiarity: “The Supreme Court, sitting en banc…”

It would really be interesting to find out just how many newspaper and online readers and TV news viewers really know what en banc means (and no, it has nothing to do with financial institutions). To many of us, those exotic-sounding phrases are so often used that they already become familiar, and we take for granted what they really mean and what they connote.

For today’s DATA A DAY:

True or False: The Supreme Court must sit en banc in deciding issues on the constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or law.

For the answer to that question, just visit the Data a Day site of the PCIJ, or go over to our MoneyPolitics Online database for more useful bits of information.