Blog Post 02 - The Founding Era

I wasn't aware of just how much work the judges and their teams undertake. Nor had I thought of the petitions for certiorari that add so much more work that the first video mentions. The second video's backing shows just how busy it is, especially with the concerns of written content. Now, we have phones that release information to the public as soon as it is spoken through live streaming, but when that technology didn't exist, communication had to be headed by dedicated employees. It's not something that I had thought consciously, but it's a bit surprising that each judge's interpretation of the constitution is different from their peers. With the conclusions that have come from split opinions, judges that denounce a ruling while the people they work alongside preach the opposite, there is a distinctly human aspect to the Supreme Court that I had completely brushed aside. My thought before watching this was the Supreme Court is a cog in the machinations of the government, a vital piece. Rather, it's a collection of wires and wheels. Hearing about the judge's personal philosophy, their interpretation that differ wildly from the person right next to them is actually quite reassuring.

--"...that's just a difference in interpretive philosophy."

"...there's no disagreement on what's most fundamental in what we're trying to do."--

Justices Antonin Scalia and John Paul Stevens discuss the way in which they work together whilst maintaining their personal views. It reminds me very much of the link-chain analogy. A system must be looped together, tightly linked.

The change and flux that is necessary for a judicial system, or any governmental system is its most important feature. There is constant pressure from the people, from inside conflict and from the weight of deciding the fate of others gives the need for the Supreme Court to be in a state of consistent change. 'The people' had an absence of black people and women, among others. As social change impacted with the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th amendments to the Constitution, the judicial system and the people who make it up must interpret the law and their opinions in flux.