SCOTUS history

Both the video we watched in class and this Supreme Court - HISTORY article changed the way I think about The Supreme Court. I always knew that it was important, but I did not know the extent of how crucial it is for the United States to have. Without The Supreme Court, we may not be a free country. The supreme court can deem new laws unconstitutional, and without this power, we may become a monarchy. 

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of government. The Supreme Court is unlike any other court in the world and ensures that laws throughout the United States are deemed constitutional. In the video, they compared being appointed to the supreme court to being struck by lightning which I was most surprised to hear. I was also surprised to hear that this is a position that is held until the justice dies or retires. The Supreme Court handles extremely important issues like the most devise issue in the history of the Supreme Court, the question of slavery, and the Dread Scott Decision. 

I was unaware of the process of The Supreme Court Decisions. There are nine supreme court justices including the chief justice. During supreme court cases, there are lawyers on each side of the court, which was a fact that I found interesting and was unsure how I did not previously know of. Each case ends with justices voting and one justice gets assigned to write an opinion describing the legal decision. After that other justices can write other opinions, and just like that the previous majority may become the minority. Justices then will release copies of their opinion to the press. Lastly, they will report what the court has decided on and why. 

The most important takeaway is that when it comes to the Supreme Court, the power of the court is the power of trust earned. People have not always supported the court's authority. People not trusting the court could take away all of the freedom that this country is built on. The Supreme Court is crucial to our country and needs to keep the trust of the people to ensure the freedom of the United States. The most surprising thing I learned during the video was how important the Supreme Court is, and how much power it holds as sort of the “glue” that holds our country together and keeps it free. I was surprised to understand that no matter how polarized our country is, people keep their trust in The Supreme Court.