United States Supreme Court

Views on The Supreme Court 

    Of course the Supreme Court is the utmost respected judicial power in the United States. The purpose is to uphold the laws and the constitution. Ruth Bader Ginsberg emphasizes something I was unaware of which is that we do not have the constitution that was originally written in 1787 or even 1791 when the Bill of Rights was added. She goes onto explain the constitution we refer to today is the post civil war constitution which include amendments like the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. At the time "we the people" excluded black people and women, which of course is no longer the case. This really made me think because typically, I am a firm advocate for the constitution and its inability to be changed. However, without the addition of amendments, innocent citizens would not be entitled to the rights laid out in the bill of rights. 

    Currently, the 2nd amendment is in the hot seat. Of course I want there to be stricter gun laws and make it more challenging for malicious people to get guns. At the same time I understand the constitution states that the right should not be infringed. Depending on what definition of infringe one relies on, this could sway how someone views the altering of current gun laws. It seems like a tedious and extensive analysis, however, this is the kind of caution and diligence justices of the Supreme Court must proceed with when bestowed with the massive responsibility of upholding the constitution. 

   Supreme  Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner said something that stunned me to realize. She explained how in a country the size of ours, it's remarkable how prisoners in jail and experienced legal counselors both have the ability to argue to the Supreme Court why their case should be considered for reevaluation. Another takeaway I picked up on was how the 9 justices agreed that each justice must speak once before anyone speaks twice. While this may seem like a frivolous practice, in the grand scheme of things, this is much more important to the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, as it avoids the opinions of some justices being overseen because of the persistence of another justice.