<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Chief Justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States . As such, he is head of the United States federal court system, which functions as the judicial branch of the nation's federal government . The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight have the title Associate Justice . </P> <P> The Chief Justice, as the highest judicial officer in the country, serves as a spokesperson for the federal government's judicial branch, and acts as a chief administrative officer for the federal courts . He is also head of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and in that capacity appoints the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts . By law, he is also a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and by custom is elected chancellor of the board . </P>

Which branch of the us government does the supreme court lead