Video watched in class 2/26 blog

The Supreme Court is Supreme

The video we watched in class showed the current internal operations of the Supreme Court as well as the history of the evolution of the highest court. There are nine justices and a new group portrait is taken whenever a new justice is added. There have been just over one hundred justices at the time of the video (now one hundred and fourteen). Over seven thousand cases are sent to them every year and only one hundred cases are actually heard.  Petitions can come directly from prisoners or from high priced lawyers. The justices meet privately in conference to discuss cases that have been presented as well as to decide what other new cases to hear. Every time they meet each justice shakes every other justice’s hand. At conference everyone gives their views on the case.  They vote in private and the final written opinion is written with the help of law clerks. Opinion drafts may be adjusted for many months to ensure everyone’s views are included.  The release of the decisions is a big event and everyone tries to quickly figure out the explanation and impact.

The history of the Supreme Court includes some good decisions and some bad decisions.  John Marshall was the first to strike down an act of congress as unconstitutional.  Another chief justice ruled that congress could not ban slavery and this resulted in the civil war.  After the war the 14^th Amendment was added to protect individual rights.

The President appoints new justices but they must have approval of the Senate.  The power of the court depends on the faith of the public that they are upholding the law.  The public can attend a session and hear arguments from both sides.  The people of the United States are counting on the nine justices to interpret the constitution.