Watching the Supreme Court videos gave me a lot of perspective on the true role the Supreme Court justices have in this country. I always knew the basis of what they did, from history classes, they get thousands of cases and have to decide which ones really impact the question of the U.S. Constitution or are worthy of making a nationwide law. Finishing the videos this insight widened, the number of cases they received weekly was jaw dropped, and how they had to come to a decision on which ones were worth taking is a lot of time and dedication. The Supreme Court is the highest federal court the United States has, which was built from the U.S. Constitution, furthering the importance of each justice’s role. When taking on a case they are putting the United States rights, laws, and future in their hands.
Furthermore, the most significant takeaway about the Supreme Court is how all the justices come to a decision on which cases they take and if they do take it the time and dedication they have to make that final verdict. Something that opened my eyes was the statement, “Whether it's filed by high-priced legal counsel or whether it's written by some prisoner sitting in jail someplace, in his own hand, gets the same individual consideration” The Supreme Court, gets roughly 100 cases to look over a month whereas they only take 100 cases a year. The Supreme Court doesn’t just look at the problem of the case, or see where it’s coming from and throw it to the side, but they take the time to look through every small or big case that ends up on their desks and see if it truly meets the needs of the Supreme Court. Not only do they take time to pick cases but the amount of time they spend on ruling the final verdict on a case. As said before the Supreme Court is the foundation for making decisions for the future of our nation, which holds a lot of trust and dedication to their decisions.
One of the most surprising things I learned from the videos was how many cases they really take in one year. Like stated above they receive about 100 cases a month, but only take about 100 cases a year. When they get a case, each lawyer has 30 minutes to plead this case, and the Supreme Court justices take this time to ask clarifying questions and get to the bottom of the case. This can get a little hectic because each Justice has a different opinion or even a different approach to what they want to ask. This time is given to the public, but then after 30 minutes, the justices go into a private room where no one is welcome except for the justices, and they come to a conclusion. This leads to one of the justices on the majority side having to write an opinion on why the decision was made. This part takes the longest, due to the fact it can lead to all other courts’ decisions on how to proceed with the case. I also found it surprising that a justice who wasn’t on the majority side of a case could also write his or her opinion on why he disagreed with the vote. The time it takes for a first draft of the opinion is about 4 weeks. How the Supreme Court takes the time to go through every case with efficiency and equality will always amaze me.
After watching these two videos, I have gained so much insight and respect for the Supreme Court, they truly don’t teach you the facts about what the Supreme Court does and how much time it takes to make sure the nation’s laws and future are in perfect condition. Each member goes through a remarkable process to get the title and honor of being a Supreme Court Justice, but I think it is equally important for the United States people to truly understand what they do and how they treat everyone with equality, even if you don’t like the outcome of the case. It is a true commitment and responsibility to work for the nation’s future.
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