Supreme Court Reflection

The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices who interpret the Constitution.

Before watching this documentary, I mostly thought of the Supreme Court as a place where major legal battles end. What stood out to me was how much the Court depends on public trust, not just legal authority.

The process starts long before a case reaches the courtroom.

Thousands of petitions are submitted every year, but only a small number are accepted. The justices review those petitions privately and focus on legal questions, not disputes about facts.

I was surprised by how few people have actually served on the Court. Only about 100 justices have held the position in American history, and many stay on the bench long after the presidents who appointed them have left office.

John Marshall

The documentary also spent significant time on the Court’s history.

John Marshall’s leadership and Marbury v. Madison established judicial review, giving the Court the power to strike down acts of Congress. At the same time, the film did not avoid discussing mistakes such as the Dred Scott decision, which it described as a self-inflicted wound that was eventually addressed through the Civil War and constitutional amendments. 

One of the most interesting parts was seeing how the justices work together.

Despite their disagreements, traditions such as shaking hands before conferences are meant to preserve respect and prevent personal grudges. The discussions themselves appear thoughtful and structured, with justices sometimes changing their positions after hearing colleagues’ arguments.

The documentary also challenged the idea that the Court is secretive.

According to the justices interviewed, the real explanation for decisions is found in the written opinions. Oral arguments are public, and the written opinions explain the reasoning that guides lower courts in future cases.

In the end, the central message was clear.

The Supreme Court has no army and no ability to enforce its decisions on its own. Its influence comes from people accepting its authority and believing in its role as an independent interpreter of the Constitution. As the documentary emphasized, the Court’s greatest power is the trust it has earned over generations.

AI Disclaimer: The post was a collaboration using Microsoft Copilot. I took detailed notes while watching a 20-minute video about the U.S. Supreme Court, in addition to the facts that I learned. I emphasized my own reactions and opinions while watching. I then asked Copilot to help me shape the text into a blog post format. After reviewing the text, I added links to related resources and appropriate images and captions. 

My Top 5 Sources of Information

 

My main source of current events, news, and other important information is TikTok. The platform helps me stay up to date on current trends while also allowing me to grow my brand as well as my portfolio as someone interested in the Social Media field. Now, as a Strategic Communications major, I understand how TikTok works and how it pushes out specific videos/content to show its viewers the videos they want to see. This helps me understand that my "news" is most of the time biased toward what I like or what I spend my time watching. With my interest in the legal field, I also find myself engaging with legal as well as political content, which has helped me stay informed about current events and issues related to the law.

Similar to TikTok, Instagram is a platform I use daily. This app allows me to stay more up to date on what my friends from home have been doing, while also giving me more opportunities to see different and sometimes less personalized perspectives on the news. Unlike TikTok, where the algorithm often pushes content based on what it thinks I will enjoy, Instagram requires me to actively search for news and information. This allows me to come across different points of view and create my own opinions. I also enjoy the way Instagram is formatted, especially the descriptions included with each post. When a news organization posts about a current event, the description will often provide a summary of the story and explain what is happening. As someone interested in law and Strategic Communications, I find this helpful because it allows me to quickly understand different perspectives on legal and current events. 

When it comes to ChatGPT, my use of the platform is a little different. There is no algorithm constantly pushing out posts or information that it thinks I will like. However, ChatGPT is still an artificial intelligence tool that has been programmed to provide information based on the data and sources it has access to. When it comes to learning about current events and issues happening in our country, I use ChatGPT as a tool to help me find the facts and understand different perspectives. I think "unbiased" is a tricky word to use when discussing almost anything in today's world, but I feel that, with the right amount of digging and research, ChatGPT can do a good job of helping me stay up to date with current events.

 Next is my mom. My mom and I have very similar interests when it comes to current events and the world around us, although our interests differ in some ways. She is more interested in the corporate and business side of America, while I am more interested in politics and law. Since retiring, my mom has had more time to research topics related to her values and beliefs, especially when it comes to the news and information presented to the public by the government and media. Being able to have conversations with her and hear a different perspective on current events is something I truly value. I appreciate that we can discuss different viewpoints and challenge each other's ideas, which has helped me become more open-minded when it comes to looking at different types of "news."

Lastly, my favorite podcast is called Unbiased Politics with Jordan Berman. Jordan discusses current political issues and events while presenting different perspectives and encouraging listeners to look beyond political biases. I really appreciate her message and what she promotes because I believe it is important, especially for my generation, to take the time to understand the news from multiple points of view. As someone interested in law and politics, I think hearing both sides of an issue is especially important because it allows me to form my own opinions based on the information rather than simply accepting one perspective.