Blog Post #2 The Supreme Court

I learned a lot about the Supreme Court. One fact is that in all of American history there have been just over 100 Supreme Court justices so it has always been a very elite and exclusive institution. I did not know that the power of the Supreme Court has not always been clear and that it wasn’t until Marbury v. Madison that the Courts had the power of judicial review, the power to strike down laws and statutes they find in violation of the Constitution of the United States. I learned about the process of choosing and that only a small percentage of the cases that are filed with the Court are chosen to be heard by the Court through the certiorari process. I also learned about the process that the Justices use to try to reach decisions, including that former Justice Rehnquist started a process that everyone is allowed to speak at least once before a Justice can speak again and that they may change their minds about a case after these conferences and as draft decisions are shared among one another. I did not know how private the process was and the importance that the Court places on keeping things confidential.

The fact that Justices are appointed for life means that one Justice can influence the Court’s decisions for literally decades.  While the average Justice serves approximately 16 years, many Justices will serve much longer. This means that a President’s decision to appoint someone to the Court (with the Senate’s approval) can be one of the most important decisions a President can make since it has such a long potential influence on how laws are interpreted.  

The most surprising thing I learned was the description of what it is like to argue a case in front of the Court, especially by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  It was interesting to learn about the interactive process between the Justices and the attorneys and how the Justices focus discussion on the most critical issues.  It was also surprising to learn how important oral argument can be to the Justices. 

This video helped me better understand just how powerful a judicial body it is and what a critical role even a single appointment is since one Justice can change the Court’s ruling on an important issue. Their job is to hold up the constitution that was made over 200 years ago.  Sometimes, such as the Dred Scott case, they make a decision that does not stand up in history as a good decision. This helps me better understand some recent decisions such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the power that the Court can have in our lives. It also concerns me that if the Court is viewed as more political, whether that will erode the trust that people have in it to be fair and just.