Supreme Court

 

• What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

• I learned many new things about the Supreme Court from watching these videos. Starting with part 1, I learned that Justices serve extremely long terms, typically 16 years or more, and also, that cases reach the Supreme Court through written petitions, with the justices addressing a wide range of issues from wrongful convictions to presidential issues. The court gets around 7,000 petitions annually but only look into around 100. The more interesting part of the video to me was learning about the role of the Supreme Court and its Justices. The video gave many examples of early Supreme Court cases vs the Government, such as the Dred Scott decision by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney. This case weakened the court's authority by saying Congress couldn't ban slavery. This resulted in the Civil War and new amendments being created to protect African Americans. Post civil war amendments abolished slavery, defined what citizenship was, and gave voting rights.

• What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

• My biggest takeaway about the Supreme Court from Justice Breyer’s talk is that it’s actually pretty transparent despite what people might think. He points out that the Court is open in a lot of ways, especially through its public hearings and how it handles verbal arguments. Even though the justices can't just jump into issues on their own and have to wait for cases to come to them, the way they operate makes their process pretty clear. For example they hold public debates, which helps show that the Court isn't all secretive and hidden from the public eye.

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  What was the most surprising thing you learned?

• What really surprised me was learning about how the Supreme Court's role has evolved over time. For instance, back in the early 1800s, John Marshall’s decision to strike down congressional acts as unconstitutional was a huge move that established the Court as a major branch of government. This historical shift was eye opening because it shows how the Supreme Court has grown into such a powerful and influential part of the U.S. government. 

• How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

• The video definitely shifted how I view the Supreme Court. I used to think of it as this secretive institution, but learning about its processes made me change my mind. For example, I was surprised to see how public and detailed their verbal arguments are, and how much effort goes into their decision-making. The idea that justices have these intense discussions and make decisions based on both historical and current issues really changed my perspective. This shows that the Court actively adapts to changes in society. Overall, it made me see the Court as a much more adapting and influential part of our government.