Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

         

     Throughout my Middle School and High School career, we were taught about government, and the different powers within it. I recall doing a research project on the topic of the Supreme Court in my eighth grade American History class, however, now that I am older and have deeper levels of understanding, I begin to see the true importance and impact that this area of government holds.

    The Supreme Court is made up of 9 Justices, who serve a life term once they are elected by the President. While this is uncommon, I believe that it is essential and an important defining characteristic of this highly respectable position. The Constitution states that Judges serve during "good Behavior", which entails a lifelong sentence or until otherwise retired, convicted, or deceased. The main objective of this position is to to uphold the Law. Each year, the Justices are presented with over 7,000 petitions, of which they must carefully analyze and decide which 100 are worthy of their attention. There is great variation in the types of petitions that they receive, ranging from unjust previous rulings from a lower court, alleged wrongful convicting of an American citizen, to general State Court appeals. What I failed to understand about the Supreme Court prior to this lesson is that the Justices review each case that comes to their door, however, they only take a small amount to trial. Additionally, the Justices must review each case in a non-biased manner, allowing for complete transparency. This allows for each Justice to make their own analysis about the case prior to discussing the matters at a conference with all 9 Justices. These weekly conferences, only the 9 Justices are allowed in the room, excluding secretaries and other aids. I learned that the first and most important step in these meetings is to shake the hand of each Justice to connect on a human level, and create an understanding that even if there are differing viewpoints, that no grudges will be held. Oftentimes, it can be hard to acknowledge that people in such high powers of authority are still people, and this small but impactful action humanizes each one of them. After the conference, the Justices then take to trial, where the case is argued before them with lawyers representing both sides of the case are present.

     Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared her account of arguing her first case in front of the 9 Supreme Court Justices. Ginsburg was the second woman elected to the Supreme Court, and she served from 1993 until her death in 2020. Ginsburg shared that at her first trial experience in front of the Supreme Court, she was terribly scared for the first 2 minutes. After that, she realized that people were there to listen to what she had to say, and ever since that moment, she loved the power that she held during these moments. I recall the passing of Ginsburg in 2020 and remember the distraught emotions that fell upon our country, however, I was too uneducated to understand why. Now, after this lesson, I understand the power and respect that the Supreme Court holds, and how they are essential to upholding the law and protecting the Civil Rights and liberties of the American citizens.