The Supreme Court

Living just five minutes outside of our nation's capital, I grew up surrounded by a continuous stream of political information. The foundation of politics is the Constitution which is the establishment of the rules and governances for our nation. One of the three branches of our government is the Judicial branch, which, at the federal level means the Supreme Court. Through watching the documentary about the history of the Supreme Court I learned an immense amount about what the Justices actually do to serve our country. The cases that the Supreme Court tries must be nationally relevant and have little to no precedent meaning a case similar has not been tried yet. They discuss each case and decided each verdict in private. According to the video "Their legitimacy resides in the constitution, but their power rests in the faith of the public." In order to become a Supreme Court Justice one must first be nominated by the President of the United States and then be approved by congress which makes it a difficult and very political process. In the history of the Supreme Court there have been over 100 justices. One of the most famous and influential Supreme Court Justices ever was John Marshall who gave the Supreme Court legitimacy and respect. Through his decision in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court showed how it was an equal branch of congress. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Court has made decisions that have delegitimized the court as well such as the Dred Scot case. One of the things that makes the job of Supreme Court Justices so difficult is that they have to make decisions and interpretations based on a 200+ year old document that many argue is not relevant to many of the topics and issues we face today. I had some prior knowledge of the process in which Justices are elected; however, the video also highlighted the process in which the Justices decide on which cases to decide to hear and how they hear and debate each case and the process that they go about making such decisions. Having insight from both Justices and lawyers gave me a unique perspectives and knowledge that I previously did not have.