Blog Post #1: The Supreme Court

 The Supreme Court is the most important in the United States, and it remains the most powerful judicial body on Earth. 

I learned a lot by watching the videos. The court poses for a new picture every time a new justice arrives. In all of American history, there have only been just over one hundred justices. 

John Marshall was a lawyer from Virginia and was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court. Behind John Marshall's statue in today's court building are inscribed the words of his opinion, in the case of Marbury v. Madison, “Never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding”. 

My most important takeaway from the videos is that, the Supreme Court tells the president, congress, and the states what they may or may not do. They are trained in law, but they deal with human dilemmas. 

The most surprising thing I learned was that the court receives more than seven thousand cases a year, yet they only accept about one hundred every year. Every case that is accepted is taken to the justices once a week. 

Each justice is assisted by a small staff of law clerks and secretaries, but each decision is for the justice to make. 

The court hears the cases in public. Lawyers from each side have thirty minutes to have an oral argument with the justices. A few days after they hear the case, the nine of them meet in their conference room alone. 

When they come to a decision a justice from the majority side writes an opinion piece, explaining the legal reasons for the decision. 

The first draft takes about four weeks to complete. That is sent to all the justices, and they can rewrite the piece or add their own opinions. Revisions and adjustments may go on for months.

The court's tradition is to announce decisions and release opinions for all current cases by the end of the term in late June.

The video changed my view on the Supreme Court. I always thought the Supreme Court was just a bunch of people in power, making decisions that they think are best for their view. 

I now realize that it is a lot of work to come to a decision, and sometimes people change their views based on what they research. It takes a lot more time and energy than I initially thought.