The Inner Workings of The Supreme Court

 By Chloe Brussard

    

    Written in 1787, the U.S. Constitution has been a pillar of upholding the American law. Since then, there have been just over 100 Supreme Court Justices who were all carefully chosen to help defend and uphold the Constitution. The Justices average about 16 years for their career, but some Justices sit on the council for decades at a time, sometimes outliving the president who appointed them. But, transitions are not always easy. Some new Justices say that it took 3-5 years for it to sink in, and after that is when the real work starts. During their council meeting and deliberations, sometimes Justices will talk, 2, 3, 4 or even 5 times before another Justice even spoke once, which is why they have all adopted a rule where each Justice should speak once before others have spoken twice. 

    

    A key component to this whole process is respect. They must have respect for one another, for the people in which they are trying to defend, and respect for the Constitution. On the other hand, they must earn public respect. It is not something that is just given to them on a silver platter, but their actions must be for the betterment of the country and the people. Before the Civil War, the Supreme Court voted on the constitutionality of slavery. The result of the vote was that slavery was 'constitutional', and this was a huge factor in the Civil War. But, after the War, slavery was ruled unconstitutional.

   

    The Justices receive about 7,000 cases per year, from people who believe that the lower court ruling was incorrect. With the help of secretaries and employees, the Justices decide to accept just a few per year. Those are the cases that when they review them, they don't believe that all aspects of the Constitution were addressed. Supreme Justice Clarence explained that before the Justices go into deliberation about a case, he creates an outline with the strongest points that support his argument, and rarely does his opinion on a case change. And sometimes, opinions do change after deliberation.

   

    The lawyers whose case was accepted have the chance to plead their case in front of the nine Justices. Oral arguments make more of a difference than written ones, because the judges get to see their emotions and passion about the cases. Once the cases have been shown before the Justices, they must then create an opinion, which is the most time consuming of their work. They try to release all opinions about the cases by the end of the term, which is late June. Within hours of the opinions being released, journalists scoop them up and release them to the public.

    Though each Justice is their own person with their own belief system, their reputation rests on the Justices they follow. If the American people trust and respect them, then it will be easier for them to obey the law, and for the Justices to do their job and uphold the Constitution.