BLOG POST #2

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The Supreme Court 

Picture of the Supreme Court building

What is the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the United States of America as well as the head of the judicial branch of government. Its job is to interpret a 200 year old Constitution and uphold the rule of law. There are nine Supreme Court Justices who serve on this court at any given time. These nine Justices are responsible for ensuring that the American people receive equal justice under the law.

Early Days of the Supreme Court

Established in 1789, the Supreme Court came to be from Article Three in the United States Constitution. George Washington specifically specified that the court would be made up of six justices, rather than the nine we see today, who would serve for life or until they decided to retire. It should also be noted that the Supreme Court wasn't always as well respected as it is today, actually when it first started out it was hard for them to get the public to take them seriously. In 1801, the government moved to Washington and the Supreme Court was given temporary quarters in the unfinished capital building. It actually wasn't until a lawyer from Virginia named John Marshall was made Chief Justice that the court was beginning to be seen as a co-equal branch of the government. With Marshall as Chief Justice, the court asserted its most significant power which was striking down an act of congress as unconstitutional. After this, the Supreme Court's power began to get accepted more and more every day and their reputation grew.

What did I learn about the Supreme Court?

This topic has personally always interested me. As you know I'm going the pre-law route so knowing about the Supreme Court and all they do is a must. I knew that Supreme Court Justices have to be nominated by the President of the United States which is then given either the thumbs up or thumbs down by the U.S. Senate. What I didn't know was that in all of American history there have been about over a hundred Supreme Court Justices. Justices on average, serve 16 years or longer depending on lifespan and retirement. I knew that the Justices went through a lot of cases I just wasn't aware how much. I mean we are talking about 100 new cases every week which adds up to roughly 7,000 cases a year. However, not all of these cases are taken up by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court picks and chooses which cases they accept which is only about 100 every year which isn't a lot compared to the 7,000 they are sent for the year. To help manage the loads of casework, a small circle of staff comprising of secretaries and law clerks assist each Justice. At the end of the day though, the Justices are responsible for determining each case. I also wasn't aware that the Justices meet weekly, I was under some sort of impression it was in a shorter period of time. Anyway, each week they all nine meet and choose which cases will be accepted and taken up by the Supreme Court


Whenever a new Justice is brought in, a new group portrait is taken. This is the current nine Supreme Court Justices serving today.

Important Supreme Court Cases 

Over the decades, the Supreme Court has had numerous cases all of which have made lasting impacts in their own way. Many of their rulings on previous cases we still see play into effect today.

Here is a list of some of my favorite Supreme Court cases of all time...

Roe v. Wade (1973)- ruled that the Constitution protects pregnant women's liberty to have an abortion without excessive government restriction

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)- ruled that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in criminal cases

U.S. v. Nixon (1974)- ruled that the president cannot use their power to withhold evidence in criminal trials

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)- ruled that if police do not inform people they arrest of their constitutional rights then their confessions may not be used as evidence in trial (this is where we got our Miranda Rights)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)- established the principle of judicial review for U.S. courts

Brown v. Board of Education (1952)- ruled that racial segregation in public school violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment

U.S. Supreme Court Videos Part 1 and Part 2

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