The Role Of The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is a much respected institute that is recognized as representing our core values as a society. It is deep in formality and tradition and understanding the role of the supreme court in our modern world is important.

The Supreme Court can only be described as majestic and ritualistic. In a sense it’s rather like watching a live drama unfold with the tough questions of lawyers mingled with the emotional responses of those on the stand. No where else can you view such a ceremonial, ritualistic process.

Supreme Court judges serve a term which begins on the first Monday of October and runs until that cases for that year have completed. It can be a very stressful position as there is little reprieve from the cases that endlessly continue to flow.

The Supreme Courts employ many people including appointed officers, clerks, the Reporters of Decision, Marshals, and Librarians. Paper work is handled by the Supreme Court staff which is endless as case loads continue to multiply at an astounding rate.

The Supreme Court deals with three types of cases. The “original jurisdiction” actions brought by one state against another or against the federal government are handled by the Supreme Court but are a very minute portion of the case load perhaps a dozen in a full term.

The Supreme Court also hears all cases affecting Ambassadors, or other public Ministers. In this type of case the Court acts as the trial body and there is no appeal process. These cases also make up a very small percentage of the case load.

The most common type of Supreme Court case are the request for a review of a decision made by a lower court. The Supreme Court requests the “writ of cert” from the court that recently handled the case in order to expedite the process.

The Supreme Court is the highest authority in the judicial branch. Its job is to interpret the Constitution and by doing so decide the outcome of cases where important clarification of the law is required. Once a case reaches the Supreme Court the defendant has no options left. This is the last resort in seeking the outcome the defendant is looking for.

The Supreme Court is a very important part of the Government that operates independent of the Government and political influence, thereby able to make crucial decisions about the law and how it will be applied.

Although the Supreme Court does hear cases that have been before the lower courts the reason they will end up at the Supreme Court level is because there is a problem with the interpretation of the law and the Supreme Court will determine if the interpretation is appropriate or if it is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court is a powerful ally in ensuring that the rights and freedoms of every citizen are honored and that the Constitution is upheld in a fair manner. Over the years it has earned a great deal of respect and rightfully so. Think of the Supreme Court as the overseer to those we elect to ensure they too are playing by the rules!

Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.