Supreme Court Take-aways

                   

What if the Supreme Court was more open than we thought? I know I always thought that everything that went on in the Court was a secret and they only shared the most detrimental information. I was wrong. In fact, the Court is 100% transparent with the people. All the information from the case is written in the opinion. That includes that concurring opinions and dissenting. 

Most importantly the Supreme Court is the reason we have the freedoms we have. Without someone to regulate the laws and interpret the constitution the citizens freedom would be at stake. Not only does the Court need to stand by the constitution, the citizens need to trust and respect the decisions made my the Court. 

Learning about the duties of the Supreme Court, I found that the amount of time that goes into the opinion was up to four months. I didn't realize that the opinions were so long. When I say long, I do not mean 10 pages, I mean they can be over 80 pages depending on the varying opinions of the Justices.  This amount of time it takes makes sense though because what the opinion says creates a precedent which could decide the outcome of future cases.  The precedent is important because once it has been written and shared it becomes less open to change with future cases. In turn this affects the future of the country's citizens. 

The Supreme Court Justices have way more pressure on them than I thought. Not only do they have to spend time in the Court, but they have to discuss and revise an opinion that has to cover everyones views on the specific case. The court has their power because the citizens of the United States give it to them though trust. They want to ensure they can keep our trust by upholding the law. That alone adds a lot of pressure. 

The Supreme Court and the Justices that make up the Court put a lot into the work they do. Not only do they decide on cases outcomes, but they have to decide what cases they want to make ruling on. Through transparency, the Court allows for the peoples freedoms to stay, but they cant do it alone. It takes the citizens support to continue what has become a fair and free nation.