The Divided Court

The Supreme Court is the most prestigious and powerful court in all of America. The justices on the court must be in law long enough to obtain enough experience to be appointed to the court by the president of the United States of America. Despite the justices all being qualified and having shared experiences of working in law, they still have very different views on cases.

Their difference in perspective is what makes the Supreme Court in my eyes "The Divided Court". Although the connotation of those words invokes a negative image of the court, the court being divided is a very good thing and reflects our founding fathers' beliefs about what makes America, America.

The Supreme Court Justices as of 2010

To decide verdicts of cases, the justices read about the case, go to court with the defendants/prosecutors to hear more information and to ask anyone questions they may have, and then they deliberate together in a conference. After this, each justice goes and writes their own opinion and decision on the case. The idea that each justice may have their own opinion and be free from persecution from other justices after delivering their opinion is truly patriotic. The founding
fathers would have been very proud to see how the Supreme Court has turned out.

However, they would not have been very proud of how some justices are nominated. Yes, they wanted justices to be nominated by the president. However, the justices that are nominated are not completely based off of merit. Merit is highly factored in, however the president typically nominates someone who will side with their beliefs on cases. For instance, a Republican president is significantly more likely to nominate a justice who heavily supports the 2nd Amendment compared to a justice who does not.

Another interesting difference among the justices is their thought process. Every justice has a different approach to how they go in to a case. Some prefer to go in with an extremely open mind before even suggesting which side they favor, while others go in to a conference with a predetermined answer to try and force others to argue their case stronger than their predetermined verdict.

To me it poses the interesting idea that people can be equally smart, share similar education, and similar experiences, but yet their thought process can be so different. Every justice on the Supreme Court has proved that they belong there, but yet none of them think through each case the exact same way. 

Their respect for one another is also very profound. All the justices understand the fundamental basics of the Constitution, which is why when they have disagreements with one another, they can be respectful about how they go about coming to an agreement, or at least an understanding of one another.

Although the Supreme Court can be viewed as the Divided Court, I believe they all share a respect for one another and do what is the best interpretation of the Constitution in their eyes. For this reason, I believe the Supreme Court to be divided in thought, but united in knowledge.

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