The U.S. Supreme Court is the country’s primary defender of the constitution. The court’s nine justices decide legal disputes according to how they interpret the Constitution, which was written more than 200 years ago. The Judiciary Act of 1789, passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, established the Supreme Court as a six judge tribunal. The justices had lifetime appointments. Today the court has nine justices, and they’re still appointed for life. As the final arbiter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court can adjudicate a vast array of legal disputes including those between: Congress and the President; between states; between people; between people and states; and between states and the federal government—basically any dispute that hinges on the interpretation of the Constitution.
With such wide discretion, more than seven thousand writs of certiorari—petitions for action—are submitted to the Supreme Court each year by people who believe their Constitutional rights have been violated. The Court only agrees to take up 100-150 cases a year. According to rules the Court set for itself, at least four justices must vote to accept a case before the whole court will take it up. The justices meet twice a week in a private conference—so private that only the justices are present. Before they sit down together around a table, all the justices shake hands with each other. This helps keep the atmosphere collegial. The Chief Justice sets the agenda and runs the conference. First they decide which cases they will take up.
Once the Court decides to accept a case, the petitioner must then submit a written brief of no more than 50 pages. Then the respondent submits its brief, also limited to 50 pages. Next, the Court schedules the case for oral arguments. During the oral argument, each side appears before the court for no more than 30 minutes per side. The justices question both sides’ attorneys. After the oral arguments, the justices discuss the case, usually in their next private conference. They each give their views, starting with the Chief Justice and then speaking in order of seniority on the court. When the discussion is over, the justices vote on the case. Again, the Chief Justice casts the first vote, and then the others follow in order of seniority. After the vote, one justice is chosen to write the majority opinion, citing the reasons for the vote. The opinion is very important as it establishes arguments for the rulings legal precedents. That justice may take months writing the majority opinion, and go through many revisions as other justices weigh in. Any dissenting justice is permitted to write a dissenting minority opinion, and members of the majority can also write an opinion if he or she want to cite different reasons from those in the original majority opinion. Sometimes, when these opinions are written, rewritten, and circulated among the justices, a justice may switch his or her vote and the minority could become the majority. Finally, when the opinions are completed, the ruling is announced and becomes the law of theland—a legal precedent upon which future cases, at all court levels, can be decided.
In 1803, the Supreme Court established its power to strike down a law passed by Congress, in its Marbury vs. Madison ruling. But in keeping with the Constitution’s balance of powers between the legislative (Congress), executive (President) and judicial (Supreme Court) branches of government, Congress and the President can pass an amendment to override a Supreme Court ruling. This was done to erase the atrocious Dred Scott decision of 1857. Scott had been a slave, but had travelled to a free state and on that basis sought his freedom. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote that Scott, as a slave, was property and therefore could not be free. Further he wrote that all people of African descent could not become citizens. To supersede that decision, Congress passed the 14th Amendment stating that any person born the the U.S. or naturalized here was a citizen of the U.S. and therefore could not be denied life, liberty, or property without due process; and was due equal protection under the law. An Amendment needs 3/4 of the states to ratify it (38 states today) to become law. The 14th Amendment cleared that hurdle in 1868 and the Dred Scott decision was no longer a legal precedent.
The Supreme Court is supposed to be beyond political considerations and to instead, take the long view of constitutional interpretation. That’s the ideal, but in reality, the court today, like the country, is split between liberals and conservatives. For example, in 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, that the Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion. But ever since, conservatives have worked to elect presidents who would appoint enough conservative Supreme Court justices to reverse the decision. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court is the last defender of the rule of law, which underscores that our country is made up of laws that treat all citizens equally. And the Supreme Court works to make sure that citizens get all rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the amendments that have followed it.
Pictures:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/justices.aspx
Websites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8&t=619s
https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts
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