United Sates Supreme Court

       

       The United States Supreme Court was originated in the year 1789, with the ratification of the judiciary act. The Supreme Court is the only court in the country that was established with the passing of the Constitution of the United States. According to SupremeCourt.Gov, "The Supreme Court is deeply tied to its traditions: Of the federal government’s three branches, the Court bears the closest resemblance to its original form." 

       The Supreme Court began to flex its muscles in its early years under Chief Justice John Marshall. In one of the court's earliest and most important cases, Marbury V. Madison, the court answered one of the pinnacle questions facing the young country. This 1803 case tackled the question of "who gets to decide what the law is?" The court ruled that, quote, "It is explicitly the providence and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is." This was a highly important case because it gave the Supreme Court the ability to strike a law down on the basis of it being unconstitutional, which led to the court's primary purpose; to interpret the constitution. 

       Two other important cases in the history of the supreme court are Dred Scott V. Sandford (1857) and Brown V. Board of Education (1954). In Dred Scott, the court ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in free states and territories, and furthermore ruled that slaves, free or not, had no right to sue in federal court. The Brown V. Board case ruled that segregated schools on the basis of race does, in fact, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and is thus unconstitutional. The case also overturned a previous case, Plessy V. Ferguson, which upheld segregation. 

       The process of getting a case to the Supreme Court is not easy. It begins with a case, which is essentially a written quarry asking the Supreme Court to act. The court gets thousands of cases a year, and thus cannot possibly take each one to trial. Because of this, only cases of paramount importance are heard. The proceedings of the trial are public, but the Justices of the Supreme Court come to their decisions in private. 

       For more information on the Supreme Court and important cases, check the links below:
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/Programs/constitution_day/landmark-cases/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8&feature=youtu.be
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/historyandtraditions.aspx