The Founding Era & the Idea of America!

Have you ever been to court, I know I have been way too many times. A lot of people do not realize that the local courts you go to for speeding tickets and law violations are not the same as the Supreme Court. This court is much different but similar to minor courts. The Supreme Court plays possibly the biggest role in our government by safeguarding and upholding the Constitution's values. This safeguard is the highest-ranking court in our nation. The Supreme Court is the most influential judicial body globally because it holds the ultimate power and authority over every single federal case and state case that has any connection to the Constitution and federal law. The court can allow the government such power they see fit. This could mean removing or adding to what the presidents and states say. Also, the court can address national concerns that touch upon the Constitution. 

During the videos, a huge reminder I always seem to forget is the Supreme Court is actually made of only 9 Justices. Within these 9 members, eight are Associate Justices and one is Chief Justice. All 9 of these members have lifetime appointments on the Court, meaning they can serve as long as they choose to. The only way a member may be removed is from the office by impeachment. It is very interesting how a lot of the world's fate lies in the hands of these 9 individuals. All the Justices have to interrupt the Constitution by their own means and apply it to modern society. Although many people may argue they don't do a very good job, it is very difficult to apply a 200-year-old paper (Constitution) to our endlessly evolving world. A lot of society doesn't understand how much work these members truly put in as well. For example, I was very surprised to learn that the Court receives thousands of petitions each year and reviews nearly all of them. The tricky part is each one of these takes tremendous time and consideration because any one of these cases can turn into a precedent. The Justices only meet once a week as well to choose if they want to keep reviewing a case or drop it. 

Although many Justices have the opportunity to serve however long they wish, the average is only 16 years. This may seem long but the average human works 35 to 45 years in their lifetime. Many people say the Justice's jobs are easy but after watching the videos I would 100% disagree. Every justice has to follow the process of writing an opinion for any case they work on. The tricky part is this opinion has to be extremely well thought out, it's almost like writing a research paper because no matter which sides the Justices are on a case, the written opinion can influence if the decision stands for or against. These members put in a huge effort to keep our government and society in balance. Until now, I never understood these 9 individuals have weekly agendas for ongoing conflicts and oversee tons of trials. Another huge headache I never realized the Supreme Court has to deal with is how time-consuming every conflict truly is. For example, if a president was to get impeached this could take months and maybe years to resolve. Ultimately these videos allowed me to view a different perspective on our Supreme Court. I never understood how much work the 9 Justices have to do, especially current Chief Justice, John G. Roberts Jr.