My New Understanding of The Supreme Court

    Prior to reading the History.com article on the Supreme Court, I honestly knew very little about The Supreme Court and what role the Justices played in our government. I understand that the Supreme Court is the Judicial branch of the US Government, but my understanding of what power that gave them was almost nonexistent.

    After reading the article, I now understand that the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction over all laws that the United States has, and is solely responsible for determining if those laws are constitutional or not. These decisions are made by the nine Justices that make up the Supreme Court. These Justices have the right to their position for the rest of their lives or until they decide that they no longer want to work. If a Justice were to die or retire, the US President would nominate a new one and the Senate would have to approve of it. The highest position in the Supreme Court is the Chief Justice. They are tasked with setting the agenda for the Supreme Court, presides over the Supreme Court, and if presides over Impeachment trials if they are on the table.

    I believe the most important take-away from this History.com article is that the Supreme Court Justices do not have a term limit. This is also the most surprising thing about the Supreme Court as well. I understand and support why the President has the ability to nominate a Justice if it is required during their term. This allows the President to put somebody in the Supreme Court that will make decisions that would most likely align with those of their own. Even after the term of the President ends, their impact could still be carried forward through the decisions that the Justice makes in the future.

    While I like this aspect of the Supreme Court, it also confuses me and raises some caution. What if the Justices choose to abuse their power? Without a term limit, how could we remove one or more of them from power? What if the Supreme Court's nine members are all from one political party? Are there any rules against who can be in the Supreme Court?

    After watching the video I am more aware of what the Supreme Court actually does. It helped to define the role of the Justices and how they help to govern the United States. They help to provide the American people with a fair and just ruling on court cases based on what our Constitution says. They are in charge of applying what our Constitution says about the way that we can live in the United States based on what rights we are given as citizens.