The Supreme Court is the highest ranked court in the United States. It has great power when it comes to making decisions that will affect the nation as a whole. In this paper we will discuss certain points of the Supreme Courts history and how every point has led up to the court today and the decisions they make. Each point we will be discussing now is the history of the court and how they became to be Supreme Court.
We will first begin to talk about the make-up of the court. It is organized by the Chief Justice. It was established by the U.S. constitution, it was implemented in 1789, under article three, the Judiciary Act of 1789. The court was written for six justices appointed to the court but for almost all of history there has been nine
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The Supreme Court has also evolved over time when chief justice John Marshall became the fourth chief of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. He is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court's role in federal government. One of Marshall's first landmark cases was Marbury v. Madison, which established the basis of judicial review. John Marshall ruled that the Supreme Court lacked the power to make Madison hand over the commission, although he thought that Marbury had the right to have it. In the process, Marshall determined that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789—authorizing the Supreme Court to issue writs to government officials—was unconstitutional. John Marshall served for 34 years before his death at the age of 79. He played a pivotal role in determining the Supreme Court's role in federal government, establishing it as the ultimate authority in interpreting the Constitution. There have been many chief justices throughout history. From the first chief justice John Jay, who served from 1789 to 1795, to our current chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr. He is the 17th chief justice in the Supreme Court history. Roberts he was nominated by George w. Bush and then was appointed September 29th, 2005 and is currently still serving. As time went on and the Supreme Court has had many chief justices and because of them the United States …show more content…
For the first one hundred and eighty years, justices were almost all white male Protestants. The first African American to serve was Thurgood Marshall who was an associate justice serving from October 2nd, 1967 until October 1st, 1991. Before becoming a judge, Marshall was a lawyer who was best known for his high success rate in arguing and before the Supreme Court and for the victory win in the famous case Brown vs. Board of Education. On May 17, 1954, the Court unanimously ruled that "separate but equal" public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. The Brown case served as a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement, inspiring education reform everywhere and forming the legal means of challenging segregation in all areas of society. In 1986, Antonin Scalia was the first Italian-American. Prior to the 20th century, a few Roman Catholics were appointed, but concerns about diversity of the court were mainly in terms of geographic diversity. In the 20th century saw the first Jewish justice, Lewis Brandeis, in 1916. The next justice was the first female justice who was appointed to the Supreme Court. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who was elected in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. O’Connor was a key swing in vote in many important cases, including the upholding of Roe vs. Wade. In this historic case the Supreme Court decision overturning a Texas interpretation of abortion law and making abortion
What is actually happening is allowing Supreme Court justices to serve for life. An article stated that “by making new appointments less frequent, longer tenure has diminished the abilities of presidents and senators to provide the only form of democratic accountability that is consistent with judicial independence,” (Jr., Stuart Taylor. ). William Douglas, who has set record for Supreme Court tenure (almost 37 years) who has cast the deciding vote, along with Hugo Black who retired at the age of 85 and Thurgood Marshall who retired at the age of 83. “ I’m getting old and falling apart,” Marshall said on his last day (Jr., Stuart Taylor. ). That’s why it is better to bring fresh perspectives, and especially those people who understand the
Supreme Court. On that same day, President Washington Sent a letter to congress, with the names of a chief and five justice associates and one of those associates was John Blair. The appointment came as a surprise to John Blair when he heard that he was an associate pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. But John Blair accepted it and resigned from the Virginia Supreme Court, to join the U.S. Supreme Court. Later Washington explained to Attorney General Edmund Randolph why he chose those people and said that the establishment of the New Supreme Court required “the selection of the fittest characters that would be able to expound law and the dispense of justice.”
“Without John Marshalls appointment the court would have turned out considerably different and much weaker,” (86). From this quote you can see that John Marshall saved the court and made is significantly stronger
Lame duck president John Adams signed the judiciary act 0f 1801, during the period between the election of 1800 and the day of oath for President Jefferson. The Judiciary act of 1801 was an extension of the Judiciary act of 1789. The Judiciary act of 1801 created new district courts, circuit courts, and justices of the peace which were not in the original constitution. During this time John Adams appointed 16 circuit court judges, and 42 justices of the peace. These appointees are referred as the midnight judges.
There are also no juries or witnesses and it involves only lawyers from both sides that argue the law and answer any questions the judges may have. There are seven judges at this level or one Chief Justice and six judges on the panel. The Chief Justice is elected by the court?s sitting judges and is elected a two-year term. Cases can be appealed to the Supreme Court that were heard in the Circuit Courts or the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court can override those courts decisions. The Supreme Court?s role is to guarantee a firm and reasonable judicial system and is the final arbitrator in disagreements that involve the state?s constitution and laws.
The true second Chief Justice was actually John Rutledge, however, he only served for 5 months due to not being able to get approved by the Senate. The third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was Oliver Elsworth, who served roughly 4 years. Elsworth was put out of office due to the Judiciary Act of 1801. Only then do arrive at John Marshall, who served as Chief Justice for thirty-four years. Dr. Scott skips over close to 6 years of vital information by stating that John Marshall was the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The longest serving Chief Justice in Supreme Court history, Marshall dominated the Court for over three decades and played a major role in the improvement of the American legal system (Mod. 3b). John Marshall was a chief for 34 years leading the supreme court. Chief John Marshall performed a key role in the power of the federal and state governments during the mid-nineteenth century. Marshall gave it the strength and weight of the third, equivalent branch of government. Marshall's Court formed the new country with its understanding of the Constitution and the setting up of various early appropriate points of reference that was better describe, the part and size of the federal government.
The Supreme Court is a federal court, the highest body in the judicial branch of the United States government. The Supreme Court contains a chief justice and eight associate justices. All of these are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. The Supreme Court contains the plaintiff, defendant, chief lawyer for plaintiffs, chief defense lawyer, justices of the court, and the justices dissenting. The plaintiff is a person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
However, he served serve in the position briefly before and was appointed a secretary of state by President Adam in 1800. In the same year, Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth resigned on the grounds of ill health. The president tenders reappointment to John Jay, the first Chief Justice but he refuses. Further, in 1881, he was appointed as chief justice and sworn in on February, 4. However, he continued serving as a secretary of
His “midnight judges” were able to shape a strong government into modern day society. It was the single most important thing he achieved due to the long lasting affect his actions had. His choices led to a deeper understanding of judicial review because of John Marshall’s analysis of the Constitution. The government was also able to control much of the economy through the Second Bank of the United States. The Works Cited Alcorn, J. “John Marshall.”
Travis Maguire JCC US History Marshall Court Project Essay November 6, 2017 Chief John Marshall of the United States Supreme Court had a large impact on American history. His influence on the United States established the great power that the Supreme Court held for the future.
Also, the Judiciary act established the number of justices
The Supreme Court of the United States is located in Washington, DC at One Frist Street NE. There are there member titles within the Supreme Court. These members are the Chief Justice of the United States, Associate Justices, and the Retired Justices. In today’s membership of the Supreme Court there is one chief justice, eight associate justices, and four retired justices. The Chief Justice of the United States is the head justice of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is a part of the judicial branch of the United States government. They decide criminal and civil appeal cases that involve federal law. They also make sure that a law that congress or the president proposed is constitutional. There are nine Supreme Court judges. They have made decisions on racial segregation issues all the way to woman’s rights, including voting laws.
There were two leading contenders, Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia (Stabb 24). President Regan decided to appoint Scalia. There has been some debate