Blog #2 U.S Supreme Court Video Response

So often people associate the court system, especially the supreme court, with having to make a decision in choosing between 'right' and 'wrong'.  I think this video did a good job of demonstrating how the justice system goes beyond deciding right from wrong, rather the supreme court justices hold the responsibility of abiding and centralizing the laws set forth by the constitution, rather than standing with temporary views which may go in and out of fashion with the times.  Precedented cases and the good faith of previous justices have help set a good path for the current justices to follow today.  

The video described various pertinent cases throughout American history that helped shaped some of the amendments and guidelines we follow to this day. A very important one discussed was the Dred Scott case which took place in 1857, shortly before the Civil War.  In fact, it is regarded as one of the major events that led to the outbreak of war.  Following the Civil War, amendments were put in place to abolish slavery, define citizenship, clarify voting rights, and provide equal protection of the law.  This particular one was set in place to prohibit an excess of state or centralized power from emerging.  

Another bit of information I gathered from the video was about the process in which the supreme court moves forward with the cases they choose.  They receive about 7000 cases annually from lower level courts and only about 100 are sent to the 9 justices and their team comprised of law clerks and secretaries.  The video informed me on how the justices need to establish written opinions on each case.  Usually they are a summary of the majority's view, providing argumentative points in order to persuade people to believe their opinion.  If a judge passionately disagrees, he has the option to write his own independent opinion with the facts and evidence he believe points to his side.  The court is expected to release all description and information to relevant cases by the end of the term, around June.  It gets released to the press.

Overall, this video was a good refresher on the history of our nation's court system, the purpose it serves, and the way it stands true to the country's founding values laid out in our constitution to this day.