The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest of all courts in the United States, therefore they make the final decision when a case moves up through all the lower courts.

Because the court is a part of government, most people would probably expect some secrecy from them to prevent the American people from knowing what exactly occurs. However, with the Supreme Court, cases are heard publicly and everything is revealed in the opinion, so all information is truly out on the table.

The opinion is written by one of the justices on the majority side, which usually takes about four weeks to construct a draft of. Revisions can take months, but once it is completed, the opinion binds all courts in future opinions.

Being appointed to the Supreme Court is a huge honor, which is done by the President. There are nine justices on the court so that there can be a majority opinion on every case. Justices serve an average of 16 years, however some have served much more.

The Supreme Court upholds the idea known as "certiorari", meaning they have the ability to choose which cases they want to hear. The court receives thousands of cases a year, making it impossible to hear every one that is presented to them.

The Supreme Court  is the most powerful judicial body in the world. That power comes from the trust earned by the American people.

However, the court was not always as powerful as it is today. One of the most important events that brought the Supreme Court its prestige was the case Marbury v. Madison. The outcome of this case provided the court with the power of judicial review, meaning the court can review all acts of government and rule them as constitutional or not.