The History and Workings of the Supreme Court

In this post, I'll be sharing my thoughts, new information, surprising facts, and my key takeaways from the History and Workings of the Supreme Court class videos. 

The Part I video gave me great insight into the history and workings of the Supreme Court. The narrator touched on the length of service a justice serves in the court. The average judge spends 16 years on this bench, which I didn't know. One of the justices spoke about what it's like being a part of the group, "it is the quiet of a storm setting", referring to the chaos the court can hold. It's very rare to be appointed to the Supreme Court the video states, “Being appointed to the court is the same luck as being struck by lightning”. The narrator spoke about how the public did not appreciate the Supreme Court initially. This really surprised me because I respect the court and a vast majority of the public does too. John Marshall was actually the person who earned the respect of the citizens with the Madison case. 

 I was the most interested in Certiorari and how the justices chose their cases. The video states the court receives about 7,000 cases a year, and they only select 100 of those a year. The judges pointed out each case gets the same consideration. Giving me an imaginary look inside the conference room, the justices spoke about their first time on the court during a conference. They said it was "electric" and "powerful" to be a part of a conversation with the justices that held so much knowledge and wisdom. Before each meeting, each justice shakes everyone's hands. This builds a connection within the group and makes it harder to argue and hold grudges. To make the conversation fair, the Chief Justice created a rule where each person has to speak once before someone can speak twice. Overall I enjoyed hearing how the justices chose the cases and what it's like being in the conference room. 

 Part II of the video gave me more detail on how the court works. The video touched on the public oral court and the truths behind that aspect. Sometimes when a judge doesn't want to directly speak about a certain opinion they'll bring attention to it through the oral court. So, during the oral public court, the justices sometimes use the people to voice their own opinions to the other justices. I found this as a genius way to utilize the oral court. The last part of the video touched on writing opinions. The opinion of the court informs the Americans why and how the court came to their decision. I was shocked to learn that opinion drafts take up to 4 weeks to create, and even more time to perfect afterward.

 I wouldn't say I had a strong opinion of the Supreme Court before watching these videos, but after watching I feel more informed and understanding of the court. I appreciated being able to hear about the experience from the justices themselves. The biggest takeaway is the realization that these people dedicate many years of hard work serving our country.