What I Learned About the Supreme Court

What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

One thing that's interesting that I didn't know is that the court receives over 7,000 certiorari requests a year but only accepts around 100 per year. I'd be curious to learn more about what goes into deciding what goes to the Supreme Court and what doesn't. 

What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

One big takeaway about the supreme court that I got was that the justices are both united and divided at the same time. They are all in it for the goal of providing justice, but they all have different beliefs and interpretations on how that should be done. Justice O'Connor even mentions having ways that they avoid holding grudges during disagreements in their discussions.

What was the most surprising thing you learned? 

I found it surprising that there has only been a little over 100 supreme court justices in all of American history, and that their terms can be decades long. They'll often continue serving long after their appointed president's term. The oldest Supreme Court judge was 90 when he retired.

Another really surprising thing is how long it takes for the justices to feel comfortable within the role, with some saying it usually takes between 3-5 years to start feeling used to things, and throughout the video they'll often deflect questions to someone who's been there longer, as if even they still don't feel fully qualified to answer it. I suppose that being in such a powerful position, having such humility is important to being impartial. 

How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

Although the statement was called into question in the video, I liked the idea that the Supreme Court is always getting better because they can study its past decisions as reference for modern decisions. Matters like abolition are no-brainers to us now, but were serious, bitter debates at one point in history. 

Another thing I never really considered, is that the video talks about how the supreme court is more connected to the people, since they have to answer to requests directly from the people, than say the president, who has more freedom in deciding what issues he wants to address and when. One isn't inherently better than the other, just different needs for different roles.