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The Supreme Court

Latonya Brown

CJS/220

June 24, 2010

Mr. Anthony Gordon


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The purpose of the Supreme Court is to serve as the ultimate interpreter of

the U.S. constitution; the U.S. Supreme Court also decides legal issues arising from

federal statutes, it is also the final appellate court, sometimes referred to as “the

court of last resort” (Meyer & Grant, 2003). The U.S.Supreme court plays a very

unique role in appellate courts because of its authority and influence on many of

the most significant legal, political, and social issues in the nation. Although the

Supreme Court usually operates in relative obscurity, but the Presidential election of

2000 focused worldwide attention on the court, raising public consciousness about

the critical role of the Court in the nations legal and political affairs. The U.S.

Supreme Court includes nine justices, who are appointed by the president of the

United States; their positions are held for life. Unlike other appellate Courts which

must review all cases submitted to them, each year the Supreme Court grants only

a small proportion of the requests for certiorari. Certiorari are requests for review

submitted for its consideration. According to Meyer & Grant, 2003 in order for a

case to be granted review by the Supreme Court, at least four of the nine justices

must agree to accept the case. When the court agrees to accept a case, the

acceptance is referred to as “granting certiorari”, abbreviated as “cert”.

The U. S. Supreme Court only considers legal questions involving Federal

laws; it does not review legal issues that concern only state constitutions or

statutes. The Supreme court has hundreds of cases submitted to them each year,

therefore they must carefully select the cases that present legal issues of the

greatest significance; cases that involves constitutional rights have the courts

attention. The court also reviews appeals that request the court’s assistance in

resolving contradicting lower court precedents. The Supreme Court may also

review appeals where State or Federal statues clash with each other or the
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constitution, an example of this would be the use of marijuana for medicinal

purposes by patients whose health care provider has authorized this; this is a law or

initiative that exists only in California. The police and prosecutors are in an

awkward position because if they arrest or pursue people with this drug then they

appeared to be violating the new state law, but if they ignored these cases then

they would not be complying with the Federal anti-drug laws.

“The republic endures and these are the symbols of faith”; these are the

words that are written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court building; they

express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States. This

court is the highest tribunal in ends, the nation for all cases and controversies

arising under the constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter

of the law, the court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of

equal justice under law and therefore, functions as guardian and interpreter of the

constitution (Law.umc.edu.). The U.S. constitution and the Supreme Court go hand

and hand, the constitution is what the U.S. Supreme Court goes by. The U.S.

constitution of the United States is a carefully balanced document; it is designed to

provide for a national government sufficiently strong and flexible to meet the needs

of the republic, yet sufficiently limited and just to protect the guaranteed rights of

citizens; it permits a balance between society’s need for order and the individuals

rights to freedom.

To assure these ends, The Framers of the Constitution created three

independent and co equal branches of government. That this constitution has

provided continuous democratic government through the periodic stresses of more

than two centuries illustrates the genius of the American system of government.

The complex role of the Supreme Court in this system derives from its’ authority to
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invalidate legislation or executive actions which, in the court’s considered judgment

conflict with the constitution. This power of” judicial review” has given the court a

crucial responsibility in assuring individual rights as well as in maintaining a “living

Constitution” whose broad provisions are continually applied to complicated new

situations. The Supreme Court needs to increase their appeal reviews simply

because there are many innocent people who are in prison either for a life sentence

or on death row. The supreme Court needs to take the time out to review these

cases because why sentence someone to death or life in prison if there is a chance

that they could be innocent of the crime that they was accused of in the first place;

they need to increase the number of appeals that they accept in order to avoid

situations like these.


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References

Law.umc.edu. (). The Supreme Court in the American System of Government.

Retrieved from

http://www.law.umc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw.suipremecourtint

ro.

Mayer, J.F., & Grant, D.R. (2003). The Courts in Our Criminal justice System.

Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection Database.

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