The History and Workings of the U.S. Supreme Court

 

    

What is the Supreme Court?

    Prior to watching these two videos, I had limited background knowledge of the U.S. Supreme Court. I have taken previous government classes where we touch on the role of the Supreme Court in the United States government, but didn't get to fully indulge in the nature of its roll. 

    The Supreme Court is comprised of nine Justices, each who keep this title for around 16 years. The court is used as an outlet to verbally debate cases and petitions. This court is the highest power in the American government and world.

Video Takeaways

      One new interesting fact I got to learn through these videos that I had no prior knowledge of, is that Supreme Court doesn't dictate which petitions they take on based on status. A petition could be written by a high-class citizen, someone in jail, someone famous, and the court will give each petition equal consideration despite who its written by. Learning this fact allowed me to recognize the true impartialness of the Supreme Court.

    By far, the most important take away after watching these informative videos is that the Supreme Court is a place of conversation that values the idea of fairness and different perspectives, to uphold Constitutional rights. In the lower courts, the verdict of the case is decided, yet the Supreme Court views the case from a strictly law perspective to uphold the values of the Constitution.

The most surprising fact I learned was how the Constitution, which was created over 200 years ago, still applies to our laws and guides in problem solving today. Despite different interpretations, perspectives, and opinions, the idea of Constitutional rights is what aligns the court in coming to a collective decision in disagreement. I also found it incredibly interesting that some Supreme Court has open connection to the public. No cases or ideas are secretive, the court is just used as an outlet for civil debate. 

Through better understanding of the Supreme Court, many of my past biases have changed. I now have changed opinions and realize the court is consisted of people instead of entities I hear about on television. This video allowed me to see the humility in each of the Justices and view them as people with opposing perspectives and versatile backgrounds.