Supreme Court

6 Paragraph Report

“The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.” (Article III, Section I �" Constitution of the United States) The Supreme Court draws its power from the constitution. The Constitution gives the court its authority as the head of the judicial branch.

The Supreme Court draws its power from the constitution. It is the head of the judicial branch of the government. The Supreme Court has a total of nine justices.  The justices are as follows; Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.  (Been serving as Chief Justice since September 29, 2005), Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (Been serving as a justice since February 3, 1988), Justice John Paul Stevens (Been serving as a justice since December 17, 1975), Justice Antonin Scalia (Been serving as a justice since September 17, 1986), Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Been serving as a justice August 8, 2009), Justice Stephen G. Breyer  (Been serving as a justice since August 3, 1994), Justice Clarence Thomas (Been serving as a justice since October 15, 1991), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Been serving as a justice since August 10, 1993), Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. (Been serving as a justice since January 31, 2006).

                The constitution doesn’t explicitly grant the Supreme Court the power of judicial review.  Although the power of the Court to overturn laws and executive actions it deems unlawful or unconstitutional is a well-established precedent. Many of the Founding Fathers accepted the notion of judicial review. In the Essay, Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote: “A Constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to them to ascertain its meaning, as well as the meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body. If there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, that which has the superior obligation and validity ought, of course, to be preferred; or, in other words, the Constitution ought to be preferred to the statute.” This allows justices to have the last word on the placement of authority among the branches of government, which allows them the ability to set bounds to their own authority, as well as to allow their immunity to the checks and balances system.

                A landmark case is a case that establishes new precedents that establish a significant new legal principal or concept, or substantially changes the interpretation of an existing law. An example of a landmark case is the case of Marbury v. Madison. The case resulted from a petition from William Marbury, who had been appointed Justice of Peace in the District of Columbia by former president John Adams but whose commission was not subsequently delivered, to the Supreme Court. Marbury had petitioned the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the documents, but the court denied Marbury’s claim, holding that part of the statute upon which he based his claim, the Judiciary Act of 1789, unconstitutional. That was the first time the Supreme Court had declared something “unconstitutional”, thus establishing the concept of judicial review (the idea that courts may oversee and nullify the actions of another branch of government) in the United States. The case’s decision helped define the “checks and balances” of the United States form of government.

                Another landmark case was Roe v. Wade. This landmark case was one based on the issue of abortion, and was one of the most controversial and politically important cases in the history of the United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the court held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason up to the “point at which a fetus becomes ‘viable.’”  The court has defined viability as the potential “to live outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial aid.” They also added that viability “is usually placed at about 7 months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.” The court had rested these conclusions on a constitutional right to privacy originating from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which is also known as substantive due process.  Roe v. Wade prompted a national debate by disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion in the United States. It included issues such as who should decide the legality of abortion, whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what role religious and moral views should be in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics, dividing most of the nation into pro-choice (pro-Roe) and pro-life (anti-Roe).

                The decisions handed down by the Supreme Court were justly delivered. The Supreme Court takes their time in deciding cases such as these. They have played a part in some of the biggest landmark cases in the history of the United States.  They have made very few mistakes in the eyes of the people and as such most of the decisions they have made are respected. The respect granted to the Supreme Court is the source of the power for their decisions.