The Supreme Court Through History
Justice is the linchpin of a society. Without a system of laws that reflect it, a nation’s government will lose its credibility among its governed.
Plato used the Greek word "Dikaisyne" for justice which translates to 'morality' or 'righteousness.' Justice is not the right of the stronger but the effective harmony of the whole. Since his time, a common ideal to reflect justice in codified laws has been the purview of a select body of lawmakers appointed by the state.
The body assigned with interpretation and final execution of federal laws in the United States is its Supreme Court. Article III of the United States Constitution states, "[t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."
The Supreme Court was subsequently established by the first bill introduced in the United States Senate, the Judiciary Act of 1789. The court convened for the first time in February 1790 in New York City, then serving as the nation’s capital. From 1791 to 1800, it assembled in Philadelphia, which served as the capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Starting in February 1801, the court began meeting in Washington, where it occupied various sites in the Capitol building for more than a century. Following the burning of the Capitol by the British in 1814, it met in a private home.
The Supreme Court today is commonly petitioned for 10,000 cases each year, of which they will review about 80.
During its existence, the Court has been frequently controversial. Some decisions have had long-lasting effects on how the ideals laid out in the Constitution are interpreted.
Frequently, decisions handed down from the Court have been perceived as politicized, as serving elite interests, or discriminatory toward race or gender. As such, elements of society have looked upon the Court as a means by which the existing hegemony is society is maintained.
Two 19th
Plato used the Greek word "Dikaisyne" for justice which translates to 'morality' or 'righteousness.' Justice is not the right of the stronger but the effective harmony of the whole. Since his time, a common ideal to reflect justice in codified laws has been the purview of a select body of lawmakers appointed by the state.
The body assigned with interpretation and final execution of federal laws in the United States is its Supreme Court. Article III of the United States Constitution states, "[t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."
The Supreme Court was subsequently established by the first bill introduced in the United States Senate, the Judiciary Act of 1789. The court convened for the first time in February 1790 in New York City, then serving as the nation’s capital. From 1791 to 1800, it assembled in Philadelphia, which served as the capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Starting in February 1801, the court began meeting in Washington, where it occupied various sites in the Capitol building for more than a century. Following the burning of the Capitol by the British in 1814, it met in a private home.
The Supreme Court today is commonly petitioned for 10,000 cases each year, of which they will review about 80.
During its existence, the Court has been frequently controversial. Some decisions have had long-lasting effects on how the ideals laid out in the Constitution are interpreted.
Frequently, decisions handed down from the Court have been perceived as politicized, as serving elite interests, or discriminatory toward race or gender. As such, elements of society have looked upon the Court as a means by which the existing hegemony is society is maintained.
Two 19th