The Founding Era and the Supreme Court

 The posted videos about the Supreme Court educated me in various ways. There were a few major points that stuck out to me, including the publicity of the Supreme Court and its cases. I had always thought of the Supreme Court and its nine Justices to be incredibly high profile and private. Furthermore, I had always thought of the cases that made it all the way to the Supreme Court to be of top secrecy and confidentiality. This video demonstrated just how public these cases are, and that, in many ways, the publicity of the cases brought to the Supreme Court ensures accountability and transparency. 

I believe that the most important takeaway about the Supreme Court is how intentionally and purposefully it works to protect the rights of the American people and the laws of the Constitution. This video revealed and examined all of the inner workings of the Supreme Court, including the length of time it takes for cases to get to the Supreme Court, the timeline and workings of the cases themselves, and the opinion writing process after the court trial. It was especially shocking to me that sometimes the Justices will write over 80 pages about their opinion on a case. It was encouraging to see how many steps are taken and people's lives are dedicated to ensure that the American people are protected from governmental abuse.

The part that most impacted the way I think of the Supreme Court was about a third of the way into the second video. The narrator says, "when the Supreme Court speaks, the people listen. And by and large, people obey. And that unspoken contract is one of the hidden keys to our freedom." I have never thought to describe the Supreme Court like this, and furthermore, I never realized that I live my own life based on this principle.