The Supreme Court :The Law of the Land

 

    The Supreme Court is one the three highest branches in the United States Government and the highest court in the land.It is responsible for evaluating the constitutionality of following the law. The court itself was established by Article lll section 1 of the Constitution  however, section ll establishes the power of the court. The biggest power the court has is Judicial Review which is the power to declare a violation in the Legislative or Executive branches. As of 2022, there have been around 115 Justices that have served on the Supreme Court. 

 

     The biggest thing I learned that I didn't already know about the Supreme Court was the amount of cases they don't take. Even though they receive around 7,000 cases a year they only hear about 100-150 cases give or take. I also feel like all we hear is about how divided the Supreme Court justices can be , when most cases turn about to be a unanimous vote. I also learned that they are originally appointed by the President of the United States, then voted on by congress. The presidents do this to help gain more control over the court by their party. The current justices are Chief Justice Roberts, Associate Justice Thomas, Associate Justice Alito, Associate Justice Gorsuch, Associate Justice Kavanugh and Associate Justice Barrett who were all appointed by republican presidents. Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Sagan and Kentanji Brown Jackson were all appointed by democratic presidents.  I also learned that Former President William Howard Taft was not only president but Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency. 

    The Supreme Court is almost the silent branch of the land. They do so much and determine so many things every year and yet we barley hear about them. I think this surprises me so much because the only main times Ive ever heard about the court was during the Brett Kavanugh and Amy Coney Barretts hearings because of how controversial they were. I also find surprising how we didn't have a female court justices until pressured by the people to do so. In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Regan as a new supreme court justice as the rise of abortion laws and cases presented. Regan believed that by appointing a conservative female justice he would still get his way with his abortion stance but appeal to the people who complained about there not being a female voice. However this choice backfired, when O'Connor sided with four other justices in 1992's  Planned ParentHood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey. They decided to uphold the decisions made by Roe v Wade.