The Supreme Court of United States is a body under the judiciary which was formed in 1789 for purposes of settling cases against the United States or cases that involve violation of the US constitution. The Court is bestowed with powers to interpret laws formed by the Congress in the process of solving a given dispute. The Supreme Court is made up of the Chief Justice and eight Associate Judges whom are proposed by the President and ratified by the U.S Senate. Judges in the Supreme Court have no term limit and therefore they are entitled to stay in office until they retire at their own will. However, a judge may be removed from office if found guilty of misconduct or by impeachment by the Congress.
The Supreme Court is mandated with the powers to give judgment on cases that involves violation of the constitution. For example, the Espionage Act of 1918 stipulated that any person who would act in controversial with the Act which required individuals to desist from helping American’s enemies at the time of war. Anybody who violated this Act would face very stiff penalty from the Supreme Court. This kind of ruling is only made by the Supreme Court and is meant to protect the country’s secrets from reaching the enemy in times of war. Any person found guilty of assisting the enemy in anyway would be sentence to not less than 20 years in prison or pay a fine equivalent to $ 10000. In my opinion, I would recommend that this law to be completely implemented as it sought to protect the country’s security and military secrets.
Currently, the Chief Justice is John Roberts and acts as the head of all administrative works in the judiciary. The Associate judges are John Steven, David Souter, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Ginsburg. All these judges serve in the Supreme Court and are bestowed with the duty of ensuring just and equal representation of all cases involving the U.S or cases involving the constitution. Therefore, all citizens of the United States would benefits from the decision made by this Court. This is because; it acts as a last resort to justice and equality in the United States. For example, if the President tries to forbid the freedom provided in the Constitution, the Court acting in its own decision based on the constitution would ensure that the constitution is followed and thereby protecting the rights of the citizens. To be Concise, the Supreme Court the powers of both the Executive and the legislature. That is, whenever these organs act in contrary to the constitution, the Supreme Court would correct them hence ensuring that the rights of each and every American are preserved as provided in the constitution.
The decision of the Supreme Court affects the society in a variety of ways; sometimes in a negative way and other times in a positive way. However, it can be asserted that those decisions are always meant to protect the society. For example, the case of Buck V Bell which required the defendant to be sterilized for the sake of society well being is a good example where the Supreme Court helps in protecting the society. That is, by sterilization, the defendant would bring to an end the vicious cycle of feeble generation thereby ensuring a healthy generation. In addition, the Supreme Court helps the society to realize justice and equality in all sectors. For example, the Supreme Court in the case of Brown V Board of education in 1954 held that it was illegal to segregate individuals according to race and that all people are subject to obtaining equal education irrespective of their skin color.
In the United States, there are two court systems namely; the federal and State Courts. The federal system is established under the law and constitution of the U.S and often handles cases such as bankruptcy of a corporation, cases involving the States, cases touching on the ambassadors and federal criminal cases. Each State in the United States has its own Court system though they are overridden by the federal courts. They exist autonomously from the federal courts and consist of trial courts which handle cases at their inception and appellant courts charged with the duty of hearing appeals from the trial courts. The State courts handle cases such as burglary, breach of contract, family cases and other cases that do not touch on the constitution directly. Often, cases from the State court may be appealed to the federal courts but only in situations where the case has reference to the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
In my opinion, I think federal system should be very powerful given the limited jurisdiction it has. In its jurisdiction, it only handles cases related to the constitution and other federal related laws such federal crimes. Further still, it provides opportunity for unresolved cases in the State Courts to be given another consideration. Hence, making it powerful increases its capacity in delivering competent ruling. Therefore, in conclusion, Americans’ citizen’s rights are bestowed in the constitution by the Amendment 14 which clearly spells out the rights the citizens. Therefore, the Court system is only there to ensure that whoever tries to violate these rights is dealt with according to the constitution requirements. Consequently, it can be asserted that the Supreme Court does not contravene the individuals’ rights but protects them using the constitution. The Courts therefore ensures that equality and justice prevails in the country irrespective of an individual position in government or influence. The law would apply to anyone who goes against it.
References
Biskupic, J. & Witt, E. (1997). Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court Washington D.C: Congressional Quarterly.
Healy, T. (2006). A Review of Jeffrey Rosen’s The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America. Web.
U.S. Supreme Court; BUCK v. BELL, 274 U.S. 200 (1927). 2009. Web.