The Founding Era

The Founding Era

The supreme court of the United States is the highest federal court in the country which is a part of the judicial branch. There are nine at the moment who have the power to check any actions the executive branch and the legislative branch. The Constitution influenced Congress exercise the power of the Judiciary Act of 1789 which was signed into law by George Washington creating the law that if you serve on the supreme court you serve until you die. The first Supreme Court meeting was on February 2, 1790 but they didn’t hear any judicial cases for its first term. The first decision was made on August 3, 1791 with the West v. Barnes case which was a financial dispute between a farmer and a family he owed. Now you may be wondering who picks the Justices, well they are nominated by the President of the United States. The Supreme Court is ranked by power. The highest officer is the Chief Justice who has the most responsibility where they engage in very important trials such as impeachment against the President of the United States. One of the interesting cases is 1962’s Engel vs. Vitale where it was ruled that public schools could not lead prayer. The Supreme Court handles a lot of cases each year but only picks a select few each year. Without the Supreme Court our country would not be as advanced as we are now.