The Supreme Court of the United States also known as SCOTUS is the highest federal court in the U.S., it was established in 1798 by the U.S. Constitution, Article Three of the Constitution to be specific. The Constitution allowed Congress to decide the makeup of the Supreme Court; they ultimately decided the court would have six justices that would serve until they decided to retire or died. President George Washington signed the act into law. The first assembly was on February 2, 1790 in New York City, NY after being pushed back from the set date of February 1, 1970 due to transportation issues on the justices' part. No cases were heard in the first term of the Supreme Court, they mainly worked out their organizational procedures. Their first decision was made on August 3, 1791. The chief justice leads the meetings and sets agendas for each meeting each week. The current Supreme Court is composed of chief justice John Roberts, Jr. and associate justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the only female supreme justice until 2009 when Sonia Sotomayor joined. The court continued to have only 6 justices until 1869 when it increased to 9 justices, this remains the number of justices a part of the Supreme Court today.
There are many traditions associated with the Supreme Court, for example the seating arrangement for the court is very specific. The Chief Justice takes his place in the middle of the Bench, the senior Associate sits to his right, the second senior to his left, and the cycle continues on from there-alternating from left to right by seniority. Traditionally, black robes are worn by the Justices in the Court; however, Chief Justice Jay and his colleagues did wear red facing robes-his robe is now on display in the Smithsonian.
No comments:
Post a Comment