Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

 Blog Post #2

The Supreme Court, which was founded in March of 1789, is the most powerful court in the United States. The Supreme Court was formally made up of six members but over the years it has changed to become nine. These nine members have the responsibility of upholding the rule of the law when determining the outcome of a case. When there is an opening, a Justice is elected by the President at that time. The Supreme Court Justices get an average of 7,000 cases a year but only 100 cases are actually considered. Many of the Supreme Court Justices have their own opinions about any case they receive, but the nine of them have to come to an agreement about what will be the outcome of any given case will be within a few days of hearing both sides. After that, one of the nine judges writes an opinion on all of their behalves with the first draft typically taking four weeks to write. The opinion can not be submitted until all nine judges are satisfied meaning lots of revisions usually take place. 

Over the long history of the Supreme Court many decisions have been made that have benefited the United States in both the short and long term. One case that stands out to me is Brown vs. Board of Education. This case which happened in the year 1954, ended racial segregation in public schools. The Court ruled that separation of white and black students in school was unconstitutional. This was a very significant case that was passed because it was able to put an end to segregation in school. Brown vs. Board of Education is still upheld in todays society. Having the Supreme Court is an important branch of the government, to make sure everyones civil liberties are protected.