Blog #2

Beginnings of the Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court was established back in 1789 by Article Three of the Constitution, but its organization was not decided until later with the Judiciary Act of 1789. With this act, which was signed into law by President George Washington, decided that the court would be made up of six justices who serve until they either die or retire. The first Supreme Court was made up by Chief Justice John Jay and Associate Justices John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison and James Wilson. The first assembly of the justices was supposed to be on February 1, 1790, but transportation issues postponed it until the next day. 

    

    The court's first meetings did not actually hear any cases, but rather mainly worked out organizational procedures. The first decision handed down by the court was on August 3, 1791, only a day after hearing arguments for the case West v. Barnes. For over 100 years after the foundation of the Supreme Court, the justices were required to hold circuit twice a year, which proved difficult because of the primitive travel methods at the time. This was eventually formally abolished by Congress in 1891.

First photograph of the U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Justices

       

    When a Supreme Court justice either passes away or retired, a new justice is nominated by the President of the United States, and has to be confirmed or denied by the U.S. Senate. The chief justice, who is the highest judicial officer in the nation, presides over the Supreme Court and sets the agenda for the weekly meetings. Whenever the chief justice is a part of the majority opinion, he or she decides who writes the courts opinion. They are also required to sit on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. When it comes to trials of impeachment against the President, the chief justice also has to provide over it. Congress has also altered the number of Supreme Court Justices throughout the years, from a low of five to a high of ten, and currently stands at 9.

Supreme Court Cases

    

    Within its long history, the Supreme Court has had a number of cases, some having lasting effects on the nation. They have decided on things such as denying citizenship to African American slaves in 1857, upheld state segregation laws in 1896, and upheld WWII internment camps for Japanese Americans in 1944. The Supreme Court only agrees to hear about 100-150 of the 7,000 cases that they are asked to review each year. 

Supreme Court building