Supreme Court Video Reflection

 

 

What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

I wouldn’t say I learned much from this video specifically. Most of the content was either covered in class or I already knew. There was one thing I hadn’t really thought about before, and that is the role of the litigants in a Supreme Court case. I feel like we often think of the litigants are arguing with each other in court and the judge presides over them and determines an outcome. I suppose once a case gets all the way to the Supreme Court though, the matter is more a question of interpretation of law rather than interpretation of facts. With that in mind, the litigants almost serve more as proxies for the judges to argue with each other as to how the law should be interpreted, because as far as the Supreme Court is concerned that interpretation is far more important in the long run that whatever particular case they happen to be arguing.

 

What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

 I think the most important takeaway is that the judges are people just like the rest of us, and they make decisions just like the rest of us. Sometimes those decisions are good, sometimes their bad. Either way I don’t think their decisions should be held up as gospel never to be challenged.

 

What was the most surprising thing you learned?

 Again, I didn’t really learn much. It is interesting to consider how presidents have been packing the courts since the very beginning though. In the video one of the judges insisted that must judges aren’t afraid to assert their independence pretty quickly. I wonder if that’s actually the case?

 

How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

I think it brought a further aspect of humanity to the justices. It’s really easy to put them up on a pedestal like they’re entities of law that are above us all. They’re not really though. They’re just people. They feel happy and sad like the rest of us. They eat and sleep like the rest of us. They get stressed out like the rest of us. I think it’s important to remember that no matter how important a person may be, they’re still a person at their core.