The History of the U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is perhaps the must important part of our governmental system. Many people wonder how the court began and how it works.

Beginning

The Beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court began to the government's move to Washington in 1801. The first ever Chief Justice, John Marshall, was given a small spot in the Capital Building and the power to decide the Marbury v. Madison case. Marshall's decision of the case was based on the constitution which is the tradition the Supreme Court follows when deciding a case.


The Process

The Justices of the Supreme Court walk in to the conference room, shake hands, then hear out the case at hand. But what happens before that?

The Justices are first tasked with picking from a pile of cases that they find worthy enough to have a conference about. Once selected, many of the justices have a different approach going into the conference. Some like Justice Clarence Thomas, have a decision on the case made already before walking into the conference room. Other Justices wait to hear what the lawyers in the case have to say and ask "the hard questions" before making a decision.

Whatever the courts decision is, their belief is based off of the Constitution, whether something is constitutional or not. The Supreme Court is careful when following the Constitution because their decisions reflect their views of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

But the courts decisions are not made without some help. Court Correspondents are their to assist the nine judges when it comes to writing their opinions of the case, the most difficult part for a Justice. These correspondents also release the courts decision to the press to be heard by the nation.

The Supreme Court is like no other. Its nine Justices envoke Federal Power are their to justify a case properly whether it is Constitutional or not. The Court is important because Federal Power is much more accurate than State Power. So when a case hits the Supreme Court, the ruling you get is the most accurate.