What do many of us Americans think whenever we hear the words "Supreme Court?" Usually, it's a term that can easily go over our heads, not giving these men and women the recognition they deserve. The United States Supreme Court, established 1789, is the highest federal court in the country and is the head of the judicial branch of government. As of 2022, these incredible men and women are lead by Justice John G. Roberts, who is assisted by Clarence Thomas, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Of course, these Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President and have the most important job of ensuring that all laws, which they have complete jurisdiction over, are constitutional and uphold the values of the constitution. Their job is no joke, and nothing to be taken lightly. These Justices have an immense amount of power on their hands, which United States citizens have a great deal in influencing that power.
As a citizen, the Supreme Court is extremely important to me. This article by History truly changed the way I see the Supreme Court, and in all honesty, I was completely unaware of the Supreme Court's significance before reading the article and watching the videos. Article III of the United State's constitution is what gives the Court its complete power to establish means within their court and lower systems, however, are completely controlled by the Legislative and Executive branches. In order for a Justice to serve, he or she must agree to serve their term for life or when it is appropriate to retire, which was something I was honestly surprised to hear. If he or she must be replaced, the Head of State appoints this proposition and therefore must be approved by the Senate, which has recently been shown by the devastating passing of RGB with newly appointed Justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
When reflecting on what I've previously known about the Supreme Court, I knew that only a certain number of cases would reach its level depending on several factors and the severity of the case at hand. However, one of the most important duties of the Supreme Court is its ability to hear and hand down these major cases in order to determine its constitutionality, as well as to pick and choose the cases they decide to work with. During these cases, lawyers stand on each side of the courtroom, and once a case has finished hearing, each Supreme Court Justice votes and states an opinion describing the legal decision. Some of the most important and significant cases have reached the Supreme Court, such as Roe v. Wade (1973) which ruled that women have the right to receive an abortion within their first two trimesters of pregnancy, as well as one of the most recent cases, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which ruled in favor of same-sex marriages being legalized across the United States. Because of these cases, these lawmakers will forever remain to be one of the United State's main sources of justice.
References:
https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/522726-the-supreme-court-does-make-law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvayjZizPEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfl2NBfvff4&t=32s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piN6uMrXzMM&t=194s
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