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History & Workings of the Supreme Court

 Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash

At the top of American Government, there sits 7 individuals with a profound set of powers and responsibilities. The individuals comprise the most powerful judiciary body in the world, the Supreme Court of the United States. Beholden to the law, the American public puts their faith in the honor and objectivity of these justices. As the famously instrumental Chief Justice John Marshall put it, they are tasked with “expounding” the constitution, a 200-year-old document that remains the ultimate law of the land today. It was Chief Justice Marshall’s Court that gave themselves the ability to strike down an act of Congress as unconstitutional, forever changing the balance of American law. And though they disagree, there is a crucial, mutual respect for their common goal: preserving and protecting American liberty .


Each week, the justices are delivered a fateful mountain of more than 100 new cases from lower courts. Although they have a small group of people assisting them, the justices are proudly responsible for each individual case equally – no matter who or where the case came from. The cases selected go beyond merely those they believe to be potentially unjust; the case must pose a question of national significance. This is why such a small number of cases are accepted by the Court; a number that’s dwindling each year. Justices are adamant to point out that the acceptance or denial of a case has no bearing on their opinion of the outcome decided by lower courts; it is merely an issue of overwhelming demand. But what does “national significance” actually entail?


Photo by Matt Popovich on Unsplash

Some of these cases are expectedly high-profile, such in 2000 as when SCOTUS stepped in for the first time in U.S. history to decide the outcome of a presidential election. Other cases fall under the Court’s responsibility to ensure that federal law is enforced equally throughout the nation, hence why, when various circuit courts make contradictory decisions on federal law, those “circuit split” cases often make it to the top. 

 

Clearly, the few cases that ultimately reach the Court present the Justices with profoundly impactful choices, making these individuals some of the most impactful in the world. The pressure they feel is inevitably immense, but the crucial job they do will go down in history, even if the public only reads the headlines.

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