US Supreme Court [#2]

 Supreme Court History

    The Supreme Court was established in 1789, by the United States Constitution, and it was made up of  John Jay (Chief Justice) and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison and James Wilson (Associate Justices). The number at the start of the Court was to have only six justices, but now it has advanced and stayed at nine total justices. 

    The first real notable Supreme Court case was Marbury v. Madison, with Chief Justice, John Marshall. This case set the precedent that the Supreme Court would have judicial review over the other two branches of government. Judicial review means that the Supreme Court has the power to deem actions by the executive and legislative branches constitutional or unconstitutional. That case was the start of all of the historic cases to come after.

Source: Supreme Court - HISTORY

Historic Supreme Court Cases

• Mapp v. Ohio (1961), which held that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in criminal cases
• Texas v. Johnson (1989), which found that flag burning and other potentially offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment
• Roe v. Wade (1973), which ruled that women have a right to an abortion during the first two trimesters
• U.S. v. Nixon (1974), which found that the President cannot use his or her power to withhold evidence in criminal trials
• Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which struck down state anti-sodomy laws
• United States v. Windsor (2013), which revoked the U.S. government’s ability to deny federal benefits to same-sex couples
• Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states

Source: Supreme Court - HISTORY 

How The Supreme Court Works

    The Supreme Court receives tens of thousands of petitions every year to take a case to court and if 4 out of the 9 judges deem it important, they issue the case a writ of certiorari (to get the case information from the lower courts). From that step, they have to decide if the case effects the entire population of the United States or if it is a minor issue that they do not need to solve. If they decide it effects everyone, they take it on, but they only see about 80 cases a year, so the process is very selective.

Source: Judicial Learning Center 

Supreme Court Presently

Chief Justice:
John Roberts, Jr.
Associate Justices:
Amy Coney Barrett
Clarence Thomas
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch

Source: Supreme Court - HISTORY