Blog #2: The Supreme Court

The highest court in the United States was established in 1789 by Article III of the Constitution. This court is known as the Supreme Court; it is also in charge of our government's judicial branch. The primary function of the Supreme Court is to use the Constitution to evaluate if laws are constitutional as well as being able to check the power of the other branches. The Supreme Court, otherwise known as SCOTUS, was originally supposed to be made up of six justices as per the Judiciary Act of 1789 which President Washington signed into action. These justices would serve life sentences. The number of justices has changed over the years but now stands at a consistent nine justices. When the court was first established, it did not actually review any cases. It was merely working out all of the logistical details so that it would be able to run smoothly in the future. The first case SCOTUS ever heard was called West v Barnes. It was not a very important case and the decision was made the day after they heard the case's arguments. 

A Supreme Court justice must be nominated by the standing president and then must go through a confirmation process in the Senate. Among the justices, SCOTUS also has a chief justice who has separate responsibilities like planning the weekly meetings, guiding the rest of the justices, and leading presidential impeachment trials. Three presidents in our country's history have been impeached. President Johnson, President Clinton, as well as President Trump were all absolved of their charges.

The Supreme Court has had a total of 115 justices. The current nine justices are Chief Justice Roberts as well as the associate justices Kagan, Breyer, Alito, Barrett, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Sotomayor. Probably the most notable justice was John Marshall. He was a chief justice and is known best for his ruling in Marbury v Madison giving the court power of judicial review. One interesting fact about the Supreme Court is that President Taft actually served as both a president and a chief justice. 

Overall, the Supreme Court has decided on many important rulings that have changed the course of our country over many years. These rulings have set precedents for other courts to follow and have had a large impact on where our country is today.