Blog Post #2: Reflecting on the Supreme Court

 

• What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

Through the videos I was shown, I have learned a to about the supreme court that I was not previously aware of. For starters, I found it comforting that most of them felt like they were completely over their heads until around three years in...some even longer! I don't know names, but one man said "you don't start really doing your work properly until you forget that you're here...and that takes years." This humanized the justices to me. I also was happy to learn that most of the time they disagree with each other, but have the upmost respect for one another opinion and education. I don't know why I thought they would agree with each other on everything. If that were true, they wouldn't need nine of them!

• What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

These people are so careful with each and every task they take on. They know the weight of their words and they take so much time to solidify their opinion. They all genuinely love what they do and they enjoy the unbiasedness of it all, despite what people might believe. They are even angered and offended when asked about secrecy and hidden motive and conclusions. This gave me hope that through our hardest times the Supreme Court will stay unbiased regardless of how powerful the person they're dealing with is. 

• What was the most surprising thing you learned?

In these videos, I was told that the Supreme Court tells congress what they can and can't do. This surprised me because I continue to struggle to understand how our Presidents and their teams can go against these "greats"and seemingly do whatever the hell they want without punishment. For example, I had no idea that Joe Biden opening the birders was completely unconstitutional. So why could he even do that? Even so, why wasn't he held accountable? On a different note, something else that greatly surprised me was the fact that each of the justices writes their own "court opinion" after conferences and the oral argument. I thought the only thing that happened was they heard the case in a court room and decided in a back room somewhere. Silly right? To my surprise, each justice takes WEEKS writing their final opinions on a specific case. Through this, some opinions may even sway to that of their peers. In the video it stated that, "here it is possible that the minority opinion becomes the majority." This goes to show just how impartial they really can be. 

• How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

This video completely humanized the Supreme Court to me. They are just normal people that posses the highest desire for true justice and a passion for our constitution.