Blog 2: The History of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court was established in 1789 by Article Three of the United States Constitution. Congress created this justice system so that all the branches have limits to their power and that large important cases have a place to be evaluated. This adds to the idea of checks and balances because although the government checks the states, the government itself also needs to be checked so it doesn’t become corrupt.

The Supreme Court is made up of six justices who serve a life term, or until retired. The chief justice is responsible for holding the meetings and setting the agenda for each week’s meetings. An influential chief justice is John Marshall who reviewed the famous court case, Marbury v. Madison. He recognized that the court is not above the Constitution and that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. It's important to recognize that although the Supreme Court makes the final decision, it cannot disobey the Constitution. The judicial branch in the United States was specifically organized to have each level of the court be checked to do to its case's importance.

John Marshall

The Supreme court has made the decisions of America's toughest cases, discovering the fine line between what is constitutional and what is not. This includes cases like Mapp. v. Ohio, create a rule in the court that illegally obtained evidence can not be used in criminal cases. The Supreme court has changed society for the better, like in Obergefell v. Hodges. These cases changed the lives of the LGBTQ community by legalizing same-sex marriages throughout the entire country. The Supreme Court defines the rights and limits of the American people through difficult cases that truly changed society.

Citations:
History.com Editors. "Supreme Court." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 May 2010, www. history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts.
Photos:
McNamara, Robert. “Meet John Marshall, the Supreme Court's Most Influential Chief Justice.” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/john-marshall-biography-4173065.
“The Supreme Court Building.” Home - Supreme Court of the United States, www.supremecourt.gov/about/courtbuilding.aspx.