Supreme Court

 

   I have always had a basic understanding of the Supreme Court and how they operate, however, this video taught me several new things. There are currently nine justices on the Supreme Court, but I was still surprised to learn that from 1789 to today, there have been just over one hundred justices. I thought there would have been many more justices given the Supreme Court was created about 250 years ago, however, since many justices hold their position for an average of seventeen years there have been just over one hundred justices. 

    This video allowed us to hear from the justices individually, which changed the way I view the justices. Through the interviews I was able to begin viewing the justices as actual people, since many of them admitted too feeling overwhelmed. It took multiple years for the justices to feel comfortable being in the Supreme Court and even after being in the Supreme Court for several years, they would still get frustrated and overwhelmed. I also found it interesting how the justices treat each other. Prior to every meeting, the justices shake each other's hands, which was a custom started by Chief Justice Fuller. Each justice also speaks once, before any justice gets to speak twice. I found this interesting because it doesn't allow one justice to run the meeting and allows everyone to voice their own opinions. 

The Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial body on earth and it has and continues to be a very important establishment in our nation, impacting the United States for about 250 years.