The Supreme Court

The purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution, meaning they interpret the law. The legitimacy of the Supreme Court lays in the Constitution. The power, though, comes from public faith. Society was not always accepting of the Court's authority. However, now, the Court's power is absolute. Being appointed to the Supreme Court is humbling, and can be seen as extremely overwhelming to the Justices. Many say that it takes three-five years to get used to being on the Court.

In 1835, John Marshall was appointed chief justice and, under his authority, a sweeping decision to Marbury v. Madison was made. Under his leadership, the court "made the constitution an effective instrument of nation building" as well as gained respect from society. On the other hand, twenty years later, the court faced an extremely controversial case which ultimately weakened the court's power. The decision of Dred Scott v. Sanford was that the court could not end slavery, and that blacks could never be citizens. The decision of this case is known as "the court's great, self-inflicted wound." After this case, the constitution was amended and slavery was abolished.

Today's court uses the constitution to solve national problems. 200 years of history led to the constitution being better interpreted. The court uses the trial court to understand if the lower court applied the law properly, or if the law is constitutional. Additionally, the court can pick and choose which cases they take.

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