The Supreme Court is a highly regarded role in the Judicial body. Presidents often try to influence the Court through their nominations, later once the president leaves office the Justices will remain until they resign or pass away. Justices serve an average of 16 years, and landing the opportunity is akin to being struck by lightning. We wouldn't be here without the help of Chief Justice John Marshall, when he established a strong precedent for upholding the Constitution. Justices meet weekly to discuss case selections, and all petitions for certiorari are given equal consideration no matter the person or incident.
One major take-away I had about the Supreme Court is how effective and influential oral arguments are. If you have passion and powerful words you can make a rhetorical argument that can actually make an impact. This is interesting to me because you might be initially written off but if your message digs deep within a Justice that could be make or break.
The most surprising thing I learned was Opinion writing is the most time consuming and it binds all other courts. It sets precedents for lower courts as these decisions decide future cases. Any judge can also write their own personal opinion statements. One idea that really struck me is how a judge might agree with the ruling but not the reason and they have the freedom to give their opinion to the press.
The Court has a perceived secrecy by many and before this video I also held this perceived secrecy, but in reality the Court is very transparent with its proceedings. Opinions are publicly visible with no hidden narratives. As one Justice put it best “There is no inside story”.
