The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. Its primary function is to interpret the law and ensure that laws and actions are following the country's constitution. It consists of nine Justices who are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate. The Supreme Court hears cases that usually involve significant legal issues with emphasis on those related to constitutional interpretation. The Supreme Court often sets precedent with its rulings that lower courts must follow called stare decisis.

Current Supreme Court Justices

One thing I learned about the Supreme Court that I did not know before is that after the President nominates someone for the Court, there’s a long process before they actually pick a new Justice. First, the nominee has to fill out a detailed questionnaire, then it goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearings. I didn’t realize the process took so long. The committee does not vote on the nominee directly, but on whether to send the nomination to the full Senate. After that, the full Senate holds hearings, and a majority vote is needed to decide if the nominee is approved. Also, I didn’t know how few cases the Supreme Court actually hears. Even though the Court gets around 7,000 cases a year, they only hear about 100-150. 

One of the key takeaways about the Supreme Court is that when there’s an open seat due to death or retirement, the President can nominate a replacement. However, just because the President nominates someone doesn’t mean they will actually get the position. The process of deciding who joins the Supreme Court is much more detailed than most people realize. I think it’s important to remember this, especially since many people believe the President holds all the power in this decision.

Supreme Court Building

The most surprising thing I learned about the Supreme Court is that Justices serve for life, unless they retire or pass away. While I knew they had long terms, I didn’t realize it was for their entire lifetime. It’s kind of crazy to me because I can’t imagine doing something for the rest of my life, even if I enjoyed it. The average age to retire is 65 and there are Justices way past that! Personally, I’d want to retire at some point, but some justices stay on the Court until they die, which is a crazy idea to think about.

Sandra Day O'Connor

The video didn’t really change my overall view of the Supreme Court, since I already knew it held a lot of power, especially with Judicial Review. However, one thing I learned that made me think differently is that we didn’t have a female Supreme Court Justice until the public pushed for it. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor as a new Justice, partly due to the rise of abortion-related cases. Reagan thought that by appointing a conservative woman, he could maintain his stance on abortion while also addressing the public’s demand for a female voice on the Court. However, this move backfired when O’Connor joined four other Justices in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey to uphold the Roe v. Wade decision.